On January 6, 2026, I saw an ad for crafty homeworkers needed. I messaged the person on Facebook Messenger. The name that the messages were coming from was Burokas Darius. That should have produced red flags. But my desire to work from home and escape the hate and prejudice of the American workforce blinded me. We exchanged messages for a few minutes. He asked the usual pre-employment questions and I answered. Somewhere along the line I was instructed to download the Telegram app. It was explained to me that I would be putting the finishing touches on handmade products. Once I completed my part of the production, an agent would come to my house and inspect my work, take pictures, and issue the payment on the spot. Later that day, I was contacted on Telegram by Amy Reynolds from the Amazon Handmade Products Reception Department. The fact that it was a program under the Amazon umbrella gave me confidence that this was a legit program. I even went so far as to sign into my personal Amazon account and look for the “Handmade” section of the website. And there it was! My confidence grew that this was a legit operation. I was contacted every morning by “Amy” and guided through “small tasks” to perform, to make money, while waiting on my shipment of products. I did the menial tasks and got rewards of $3-$4. So far, everything was running smoothly. I was fronting some of my own money to do some of the tasks. Somewhere around day five I did the “meager” tasks and was instructed that there was another task that I needed to perform before I could get my commissions and fronted money in return. I had invested $100 of my own money and earned $30 in commissions. Once the task was approved, I should have received my $100 and the $30 commission. Instead, I was informed that I had to perform a task that required $300-$1200 up front money. I went ahead and paid another $500 expecting to receive $1000 back. After that I was informed that the task required one more step and I needed to send another $840 and I would receive $2000 when I finally finished the task. We did a back and forth banter in which I was told that I would not get my front money nor my commissions if I did not participate in this task. We went back and forth in the Telegram chat as I explained to the gentleman that I did not have that kind of money. He asked, “How much money do you have?” I said, “Twenty dollars.” He said, “So you wish to forfeit your commission? The system has now assigned a third task. After completing it, you can obtain a withdrawal code and withdraw your funds.” I begged and pleaded for a refund and said I would forget the commissions. I was told over and over that I would not receive the refund until I finished the task and sent the $800. The shipment of goods that I was supposed to get and assemble has never arrived. I did my due diligence as far as trying to ascertain if this was legit or not. Handmade is listed on the Amazon website as an affiliate. I do not click on links in email or text messages. I just wanted to work from home…. P.S. I have screenshots of the entire conversation...