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Scam explainer

Task and part-time job scam also called Like and earn scam, YouTube like task scam, Work from home scam, Telegram prepaid task scam

A WhatsApp offer of easy money for liking videos or writing reviews pays small sums at first, then demands deposits for 'prepaid' tasks that are never paid out.

Published
Conceptual illustration: An anonymous smartphone with an abstract task checklist, a few rupee coins leading toward a locked deposit box, representing fraudulent prepaid tasks. Headline: PART-TIME JOB. FULL-TIME TRAP.

AI-generated illustration by CyberShitty. Not a photograph or a document from the organisations named.

How it works

  1. An unknown WhatsApp contact offers part-time work from home, paying a few hundred rupees per task.
  2. The tasks are simple, such as liking YouTube videos, following accounts or rating hotels, and the first few payments arrive.
  3. You are moved to a Telegram group with a 'receptionist' or 'mentor' and offered bigger 'prepaid' or 'VIP' tasks.
  4. You must deposit money to unlock these tasks; the dashboard shows growing earnings.
  5. Withdrawals are blocked until you complete more tasks or pay more, and the balance is never released.

Composite example, not a real case

The part-time job that paid, then asked for deposits

  1. Priya, 24, a graduate in Lucknow, gets a WhatsApp message offering part-time work from home at a few hundred rupees per task. She never applied for it.
  2. Her first tasks are to like YouTube videos and rate hotels. She sends screenshots and receives small payments on UPI.
  3. She is added to a Telegram group, where a 'receptionist' offers 'prepaid' tasks that pay much more, if she deposits money first.
  4. She deposits a few thousand rupees. A website dashboard shows her earnings growing, so she deposits more to finish the 'task set'.
  5. When she tries to withdraw, she is told she made an error and must pay again to release her balance. The money never comes.
  6. She stops paying, blocks the contacts, calls 1930 and files a complaint with the Telegram handles, UPI IDs and transaction references.

Who gets targeted

Anyone on WhatsApp or Telegram can get these messages. The offer of easy money for simple online tasks is aimed at people looking for extra income from home.

Red flags

  • A job offer you never applied for arrives on WhatsApp or Telegram.
  • You are paid for trivial online actions like likes, follows or reviews.
  • You must pay money to earn money.
  • Earnings appear only on a website or app wallet you cannot withdraw from.
  • Pressure to finish a 'task set' quickly or lose what you have already paid.

What to do

  • Stop paying; no genuine employer charges you to work.
  • Call 1930 and file a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in with the Telegram handles, UPI IDs and transaction references.
  • Inform your bank about the transfers.
  • Report the contact through Chakshu on Sanchar Saathi and block it.
  • Never let anyone use your bank account to 'receive payments'; that can make you part of a mule chain.

How to protect yourself

  • Ignore job offers you never applied for that arrive on WhatsApp or Telegram, and block the sender.
  • Use one rule: if you must pay money to earn money, it is not a job. No genuine employer charges you to work.
  • Do not be won over by small first payments. They are paid to build trust before the deposits begin.
  • Before paying any UPI ID or account a stranger gives you, check it on I4C's suspect search. A clean result does not mean safe, but a listed one is a strong warning.
  • Never let anyone use your bank account or UPI to 'receive payments' for them. That can make you part of a mule chain.

Official tools, explained

Step-by-step guideLost money in a UPI fraud? What to do in the first hour, and how to complain on 1930

The numbers

Task scams have no separate official loss figure, but police continue to trace them to large networks; Hyderabad police in 2023 exposed a ₹716 crore Telegram task and investment fraud with China and Dubai links (Newschecker).

Questions people ask

Are 'like and earn' or review jobs on WhatsApp real?

Offers that pay you for likes, follows or reviews and then ask you to deposit money for bigger tasks are the task scam. No genuine employer charges you to work.

Why did they pay me at first if it is a scam?

The first small payments are part of the trick. They make the offer look real so that you later deposit larger sums for 'prepaid' or 'VIP' tasks.

My earnings show on their website. Can I withdraw them?

No. The balance exists only on the scammers' website or app, and withdrawals are blocked with demands for more tasks or more money. Stop paying and report it.

I only got the message and did not pay. Where do I report it?

Report the number on Chakshu on Sanchar Saathi, which has a category for job and loan offers, within 30 days. Also report and block the sender inside WhatsApp or Telegram.

They asked to use my bank account to receive payments. Is that a problem?

Yes. Your account would receive other people's money, which can make you part of a mule chain. Refuse, and report the request.

Desk coverage

Sources

The example on this page is a composite built from how this scam is reported to work. It does not describe a real person.

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