Stay safe › Scams
Part-time job and "task" scams
Earn ₹5,000 a day liking videos or rating hotels? They pay you small amounts first, then take your deposits.
How it works
A friendly message offers part-time work: like YouTube videos, rate hotels, follow accounts. The first tasks pay ₹100 or ₹200, so it feels real. Then you’re moved to a Telegram group with “prepaid tasks”: deposit money to earn a bigger commission. Your balance grows on a website, but every withdrawal needs another payment, until you stop and the money is gone.
A real case
In December 2023 the government blocked over 100 websites used for task-based part-time job fraud and illegal investments. The Home Ministry said they were run by overseas actors using digital ads, chat apps and rented bank accounts.
If it has already happened
- Stop paying. More deposits will never unlock your money.
- Call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in, with screenshots and transaction IDs.
- Report and leave the group; block the numbers.
Protect yourself
- Real jobs never ask you to pay to work or to withdraw your salary.
- Check the company on its official website, and apply through it, not through a chat.
- Be suspicious of any job that finds you on WhatsApp or Telegram.
Say it simply
Students and homemakers are common targets. If a job pays for 'likes', it's a scam.
Retired? Easy online "work" that needs a deposit is a trap.
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Where to report
- Cybercrime helpline 1930Money has been taken or a payment was tricked out of you. Call at once: the sooner, the better the chance of freezing it.Call 1930
- National Cyber Crime Reporting PortalFile a complaint about any cyber fraud, harassment, sextortion or morphed images.cybercrime.gov.in
- The app or platformReport and block the account on WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube or wherever it happened, so it can be taken down.Report in the app
- Chakshu, on Sanchar SaathiReport a suspected fraud call, SMS or WhatsApp message, even if you lost nothing.sancharsaathi.gov.in