Employment
Task and part-time job scam
A WhatsApp or Telegram message offers paid tasks. Small payouts arrive first, then a larger 'deposit' is demanded.
Warning signs
- Unsolicited job offer with daily earnings
- You must deposit money to unlock your earnings
Who is targeted most
Students, homemakers, and anyone looking for part-time income.
How the fraud works
The offer is deliberately easy: like videos, rate hotels, review products, get paid per task. The first tasks genuinely pay, in small amounts, into your real account. This is the cost of the fraud, not a mistake.
Once the payouts feel reliable, you are moved to a 'prepaid' or 'merchant' track where each set of tasks must be unlocked with your own money. The earnings shown inside their app climb; the withdrawal never completes.
The usual sequence
- 1Unsolicited message on WhatsApp or Telegram, often from a foreign number.
- 2You are added to a group where members post payout screenshots all day.
- 3Two or three small genuine payments arrive.
- 4You are moved to tasks that require a deposit to unlock.
- 5Withdrawal is blocked by an error, a fee, or one more incomplete set.
How to protect yourself
- No genuine employer asks you to pay to work.
- Most people posting profits in the group are part of the operation.
- Stop at the first deposit request. Nothing after it is recoverable by continuing.
Comment rules
- Do not share bank details, OTPs, card numbers, Aadhaar or complaint numbers.
- Do not name or accuse individuals. Make official reports at cybercrime.gov.in.
- Comments are reviewed before publication. Never pay anyone who offers to recover your money.