Are you Active On WhatsApp? Here's How To Avoid The Latest Scam

A WhatsApp scam in the guise of completing online tasks is the latest scam doing the rounds. Here's a guide to how it unfolds and what not to do.

If you Google 'online task fraud' right now, you will likely see at least 9-10 cases of WhatsApp-related scams just in the past 48 hours. Many Indians, especially older adults, are victims, losing their carefully saved money to these scams. In Pune, an army colonel is a victim of the city's biggest online task fraud, losing 2.4 crore worth of savings between April and May 2023, according to a report in The Times of India.

In Delhi, a 60-year-old retired executive lost 40 lakhs, his entire retirement savings, in a WhatsApp scam. In a country with 487.5 million WhatsApp users, this is a cause for concern. Besides older adults, many younger people have also been victims of this fraud. In fact, India records around 3,500 cybercrimes a day, clocking in at the 4th highest in the world, writes Kunal Purohit in South China Morning Post on the topic. Of 750 million smartphone users, only 38 per cent of users in India are digitally literate, making this a scam hotbed. Read on to know more and stay alert.

Here is how the scam operates:

• The scam is an online task fraud that promises money for quick, seemingly safe online jobs.
•  You are approached on WhatsApp by the "recruiter" for a company. Scammers use names of well-known companies or phrases that sound legitimate, claiming to be from the HR team.
• Scammers offer attractive part-time job offers, often for very little time investment. They promise 30 to 40 per cent returns if people invest in their "task-based schemes." 
• What are these schemes? Scammers usually offer you reasonable remuneration for writing online reviews for hotels and products and/or liking videos on YouTube and Instagram. 
• Once you agree, you get added to a WhatsApp or Telegram group with other "part-time employees" like you.
• Initially, the scammers pay you small amounts of money for completing tasks, ensuring you trust them and get more involved with the project. The first task can get you up to Rs 2500 for liking posts and videos. 
• The scammers then ask you to invest money, promising higher returns for higher investments in pre-paid task schemes. Initially, for an investment of Rs 1,000, you may earn Rs 1,300 after completing a task. Then for Rs 3,500, you may earn Rs 4,500. You start thinking this is legitimate.
• All the interaction is on chat, and scammed victims have usually not spoken to the scammers. 
• Once the scammers have your trust, they add you to a VIP group and ask you to invest higher sums. Once someone does this, the payments stop coming, and the scammers refuse to return the investment, blocking the person being scammed and cutting off contact. 
• It's hard to trace the scammers as they use VPN to route their messages.
• Scammers target those who are likely to fall for such schemes. Many older adults often look for part-time work that is easy to do from home to earn an income and keep themselves purposefully engaged. 

How to avoid getting scammed:

• Please be cautious of task schemes on WhatsApp. Mumbai, cyber crime police, has warned the public against trusting any "complete task and earn money" or "like videos and earn money" jobs. 
• Don't click on unknown links: Take a moment before clicking on any links, as any offer that looks too good may not be genuine.
• To enhance your security on WhatsApp, consider enabling the two-step verification feature. This function prompts you to enter a six-digit PIN to confirm your account, protecting you from cyber fraud and phishing attacks.
• To stay safe on WhatsApp, blocking and reporting messages from unknown phone numbers is essential. If you receive job-related messages, don't blindly trust the sender. Instead, contact the organization directly for more information.
• To maintain your privacy, adjust your WhatsApp group settings and choose who can view your profile photo and online status. Only share personal details with individuals you trust.

Much of the online world is not as it seems. So it is always better to double-check and stay safe than be sorry.

Also read: How to spot a phone scam

Have you come across any message that could be a scam or any instance of phishing? Let us know in the comment below how you handled it.

Compiled by: Reshmi Chakraborty