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Blog · Employers

Job scams in India: part-time task scams and fake offer letters

TheRollNumber team · 29 October 2026 · 3 min read

A job scam starts with something that looks real: a paid task, or a recruiter who found your CV. Then come the fees. This is part 1 of our guide to job scams in India, in charts and 2026 cases. Part 2 covers fake government jobs, jobs abroad and what is stopping them.

  • 93%of Indian employees and job seekers in an Indeed survey have met suspicious job offers
  • 2,079part-time job fraud cases in Cyberabad in 2025, its most common cybercrime
  • Rs 43.51 lakhlost by one Mumbai dentist in six days of "tasks"
  • Rs 25,999asked of each candidate by one fake call centre, one fee at a time

Part-time "task" scams

Paid tasks on WhatsApp or Telegram, then "prepaid" tasks that need deposits, then "tax" to withdraw. In Cyberabad it was the most reported cybercrime of 2025, 27% of its 7,636 cyber FIRs. In Rachakonda it was second, with 1,215 cases.

Part-time job fraud against other cyber frauds, Cyberabad, 2025 (cases)
  1. Part-time job fraud2,079
  2. Trading fraud1,256
  3. Smishing689
  4. Digital arrest117

Source: Cyberabad Police annual review, December 2025, via Deccan Chronicle and NewsMeter

Six days of a task scam, Mumbai, January 2026
StepWhat the app showedWhat was really paid

  1. Day 1 · A review taskA WhatsApp offer of Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,650 for posting reviews. The first task pays Rs 200.

    +Rs 200 paid

  2. Day 2 · An "exclusive" groupA Telegram group with a stock-market name, and a login for better-paying tasks.

    Higher tasks unlockedDeposits begin

  3. Days 3 to 4 · Earnings grow on screenEvery withdrawal fails.

    Withdrawal failedMore deposits

  4. Days 5 to 6 · "Finance Department"Fake channels demand tax, verification and processing charges.

    Account frozenTax and charges
At the endProfits on screennever paid outRs 43.51 lakhgone from the account
More task-scam cases

Fake offer letters and fake recruiters

Gangs buy job seekers' details from job portals, call as "HR" and send an offer letter with a fee attached. Mumbai Police counted 303 job-offer scams in 2025. In an Indeed survey, 93% of Indian employees and job seekers had met suspicious or fraudulent job offers, and 51% were not confident they could tell a real recruiter from a scammer. Among Gen Z and people with up to two years' experience, 46% had lost money, against 3% overall.

Spot the red flags in a fake offer letter
  1. A free email or a look-alike domainOne Delhi gang used websites for "Bretish Airways".
  2. No name, a job you never applied forOften after a CV went up on a job portal.
  3. An interview only on chat or phoneNo office, no panel.
  4. Any fee before you joinCyberabad police: genuine jobs never ask for money.
  5. A deadlinePressure to pay before you can check.

An example letter showing the red flags from the 2026 cases on this page. It does not show a real company.

One fake call centre's fee ladder, Delhi, 2026: Rs 25,999 per candidate in all (Rs)
  1. Courier499
  2. Uniform1,500
  3. Laptop security3,500
  4. Account opening5,500
  5. Medical security6,500
  6. Affidavit8,500

Source: The Hans India, September 2026

Fake recruiter cases
CheckkboxEvery hiring check in one caseIdentity, education, employment and court records, run with the candidate’s consent. You receive results, not document copies.See Checkkbox →

What to check before anyone pays

  • Looking for workNever pay to get a job. Find the opening on the company's own careers page and check the recruiter's email domain.
  • Got an offer letterConfirm it through the HR contact on the company's own website, not the number or email on the letter.
  • Doing online "tasks"Stop the moment you are asked to deposit money to unlock tasks or withdraw earnings.
  • HiringSend offers only from your own domain, and say on your careers page that you never charge candidates a fee.
Call 1930The national cyber fraud helpline. Call as soon as money moves, or report on cybercrime.gov.in.

On Checkkbox, employers issue offer, experience and relieving letters straight into the candidate's ADi Wallet, so a real offer arrives from the employer's own account, not as a PDF on WhatsApp. That won't stop a fake letter being sent, but it gives candidates something better than paper to check. Book a demo to see it.

Next: part 2, on fake government jobs, jobs abroad, employers fooled by fake papers and what is stopping job scams.

Sources

  1. Deccan Chronicle, "Part-time job fraud tops Cyberabad crime in 2025", December 2025
  2. NewsMeter, "Cyberabad cybercrime in 2025: 31,569 complaints but only 7,636 FIRs", December 2025
  3. Telangana Today, "Rachakonda cybercrime cases dip in 2025", December 2025
  4. Free Press Journal, "38-year-old Kanjurmarg doctor duped of Rs 43.51 lakh in online 'task job' scam", January 2026
  5. IANS, "Delhi Police bust Telegram-based part-time job scam, arrest two from Rajasthan", August 2026
  6. ThePrint (PTI), "Four booked in Thane after 26-year-old woman loses Rs 6.97 lakh", September 2026
  7. The Week, "ED uncovers Rs 303-crore cyber fraud syndicate; 10 arrested", July 2026
  8. Telangana Today (IANS), "Six arrested for fake airline job racket using 'Bretish Airways' websites", August 2026
  9. Free Press Journal, "Mumbai cybercrime falls for first time in three years", January 2026
  10. NewsMeter, "Backdoor job placement scam: Cyberabad police arrest five", January 2026
  11. The Hans India, "Five arrested for fake job recruitment racket", September 2026
  12. Free Press Journal, "Mumbai woman loses Rs 11.28 lakh to fake job offer scam after uploading biodata on job portals", January 2026
  13. Business Today, "More than 9 in 10 job seekers encounter fake job offers" (Indeed survey), July 2026
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