A New way of Scamming has Arrived! Beware!

[Bureau]

Scammers are becoming so clever that I personally think they could work for the Cyber Cell! Unfortunately, the scam I'm about to describe is spreading and until it's stopped, many innocent people will lose a lot of money.

This particular scam has been reported on numerous forums and messaging apps. This is serious, and while it might not affect you directly, someone in your family or social circle could fall for it. It's important to talk about this scam and stay vigilant, as it's happening every day.

So, let's get started. If you or anyone you know is registered on any Meta platforms, you should be on alert. You might have seen ads on pencil packaging or hiring people with an internet connection to work for Amazon or Flipkart.

Scammers use numerous ways to advertise their project, all leading to a quick way to make money by doing simple jobs, such as linking a YouTube video, Facebook or Instagram reels. For doing such activities, the scammer offers a good amount of money, usually ranging from INR 500 to INR 3000.

The amount is paid before or on the due date, making the scammer seem like a good employer and gaining your trust. They might continue with this for a period of one to three months, until they realize they have gained your trust. Then, they'll offer you something you can't resist - the opportunity to invest in cryptocurrency businesses.

As most Indians are new to the world of crypto, the scammers use deepfake videos of celebrities like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Amitabh Bachan to explain the investment opportunity. They will send you links and make a fool of you, ultimately convincing you, a family member, or friend to invest under the pretext of a guaranteed return.

Sadly, nobody has been able to get hold of their investment yet. The reason being, these scammers started getting active on International P2P exchanges.

This is why we need to educate our friends and family on cryptocurrency investment and the risks associated, especially when there's a third-party intervention involved. Let's work together to spread awareness and keep our communities safe from such scams.

Thank you.

[pakhitheboss]

This is super interesting! Everytime we feel we know how scammers are scamming people they come up with a new idea. If these guys use their brain for the good of the society then things would have changed rapidly in our country.

They are targeting those who are either greedy or are basically struggling with finance. I did came across a post on Reddit wherein a couple struggling with finance lost 30k. They contacted the cyber cell. After preliminary investigation it was found that the money was used to purchase USDT on an International exchange through P2P.

Once fiat is converted to crypto it is hard to track & trace it. Ultimately the person who sold USDT got his account frozen. In one single blow this scammer targeted to innocent individual.

Thanks for sharing.

[elevates]

Day by day these gus are getting smart. Luring for a job and then scamming them online is way beyond my imagination. I have seen such advertisement on Facebook. They generally say Work from Home, Requirement- PC & Internet, Earn - minimum INR 3000 daily. With such advertisement they can easily lure anyone to their trap. What I felt bad is that those approaching them are desperate to earn some money. These scammers are not only playing with their desperation but their emotions too. I would inform my friends and family members about this scam. So that they donot fall for it.

[TheUltraElite]

The Indian population is filled with people who are educated but without jobs, in such a market, such tempting advertisements attempt to calm the hunger pangs and thus common people go for such schemes found on internet forums and social media.

There is not single best method to avoid such things. Rather a mix of wit and humbleness with frugality should save you in most such situations along with awareness about the internet and its rampant use by scammers.

Crypto is just the mode of payment, it is just that the buzz surrounding it is big now, rest of the modus remains same.

[teosanru]

Very interesting! I have seen these job offers a lot of time around social media, even showing off their earnings many times but didn't know that this is the reality of this scam. They do pay you but eventually know how to take that money back from you as well. I feel India should bring some law on cryptos so that these things can atleast be reported to the concerned authorities otherwise no point really of having the taxes on it.

[bittraffic]

Such a tedious job for a scammer but I guess they'd do it all for their next plan. Doing this scam to an tech savvy employee will not work though.

These scammers were just lucky to pick unsuspecting employees. But for some who sees it too good to be true and they are out to spend money to invest on something they don't know about. Its the scammer's loss.

[elevates]

After reading this topic I went ahead and did some research and found out such a scam is known as pig butchering. If you fall for this scam you won't even know that you are getting scammed unless the scammers wants you to know. They basically target dating apps, social media platforms & chat apps.

The scammers main objective here is to become your friend, employer, lover, let's just say someone who can help you with your needs. Thier ultimate objective is to convice you to invest in cryptocurrency. Once you invest that amount then you can forget it. It is so hard to track the money that even cops fail to do it.

It started from South East Asia and now it has spread its wings globally. Please ensure you do inform your friends and family about it. Someone in your friend circle or a family member might be have already started discussion with the scammer or is in the process of doing it.

[pawanjain]

Day by day these gus are getting smart. Luring for a job and then scamming them online is way beyond my imagination. I have seen such advertisement on Facebook. They generally say Work from Home, Requirement- PC & Internet, Earn - minimum INR 3000 daily. With such advertisement they can easily lure anyone to their trap. What I felt bad is that those approaching them are desperate to earn some money. These scammers are not only playing with their desperation but their emotions too. I would inform my friends and family members about this scam. So that they donot fall for it.

So now I get it why I have been getting such SMS where they say no qualification needed, just a internet connect and mobile or PC.
I get these SMS every month and I keep ignoring them but I wonder how many people actually must be falling into this.
The ones falling for this are the ones who are already in need of money. I guess this is how "The poor stays poor while the rich become richer".

[pakhitheboss]

So now I get it why I have been getting such SMS where they say no qualification needed, just a internet connect and mobile or PC.
I get these SMS every month and I keep ignoring them but I wonder how many people actually must be falling into this.
The ones falling for this are the ones who are already in need of money. I guess this is how "The poor stays poor while the rich become richer".

It is 2023 and India still doesn't have a data protection law. Untill we have one our phone numbers will get sold or shared to scammers. I have been also recieving WhatsApp messages from unknown foreign numbers. I am pretty confident these messages are from a scamming group. Since, people like you and me are aware of it we are blocking those messages. Imagine those who are not! They are getting scammed.

[cafter]

exactly same scam like this happened with me some days ago..
i was searching jobs on linkedin and there i find whatsapp number of employer whom i contacted he said this is a simple job you need to just subscribe youtube channels every 30minutes, for which i will get paid 150rs per subscribe. then first time i got paid 150rs through upi and i started working their in telegram after some times they said to complete an another type of task to deposit some money to big business accounts and you will get paid double the amount you deposited, their too many people are posting their deposit and 2x withdrawals. i was really thinking that it is real. i not deposited i asked here to a trusted user is it maybe real, then he explained no. and i left that group after receiving 150rs first payment for gaining my trust.

after sometime many user reported that group by depositing and being scammed and telegram also notified as this is a scam. i was lucky i didn't sent anything

[elevates]

exactly same scam like this happened with me some days ago..
i was searching jobs on linkedin and there i find whatsapp number of employer whom i contacted he said this is a simple job you need to just subscribe youtube channels every 30minutes, for which i will get paid 150rs per subscribe. then first time i got paid 150rs through upi and i started working their in telegram after some times they said to complete an another type of task to deposit some money to big business accounts and you will get paid double the amount you deposited, their too many people are posting their deposit and 2x withdrawals. i was really thinking that it is real. i not deposited i asked here to a trusted user is it maybe real, then he explained no. and i left that group after receiving 150rs first payment for gaining my trust.

after sometime many user reported that group by depositing and being scammed and telegram also notified as this is a scam. i was lucky i didn't sent anything

Ofcourse you were lucky! Not everyone is as lucky as you are and daily a lot of innocent people are getting scammed in somewhat similar way. Scammers are everywhere and the only way to safeguard yourself is to not fall for any kind of schemes. Schemes that promises unrealistic return or doesn't require your participation are always scam.