All scamsहिन्दी में पढ़ें
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.
How it works
- An unknown WhatsApp contact offers part-time work from home, paying a few hundred rupees per task.
- The tasks are simple, such as liking YouTube videos, following accounts or rating hotels, and the first few payments arrive.
- You are moved to a Telegram group with a 'receptionist' or 'mentor' and offered bigger 'prepaid' or 'VIP' tasks.
- You must deposit money to unlock these tasks; the dashboard shows growing earnings.
- Withdrawals are blocked until you complete more tasks or pay more, and the balance is never released.
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.
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).
- Chakshu reports of online job, lottery, gift and loan-offer fraud communications rose from 23,634 in 2024 to 58,560 in 2025, DoT told the Rajya Sabha. — PIB (DoT) — Chakshu facility of Sanchar Saathi: suspected fraud communications reported, Rajya Sabha reply (5 Feb 2026)