Scam guide

"Like Videos, Earn Money": Task and Part-Time Job Scams

By the Bakkar team · 25 October 2026

A friendly stranger has an easy side income for you: like YouTube videos, follow pages, rate hotels or products, and get paid per task. The first few payments really arrive. That's the bait.

How it goes

1. Small tasks, small real payments (₹50, ₹150), to earn your trust.
2. A move to a Telegram group with a "mentor" and other "members" posting their profits.
3. "Prepaid tasks": put in ₹1,000 to earn ₹1,500. Then bigger amounts to "unlock" earnings that are now stuck.

Red flags

• Money for almost no work.
• Any job where you pay first.
• A recruiter who found you on a chat app rather than through a company.

Real companies don't hire through random chats. If a job sounds too easy, it's paid for by the people who lose money later.

What to do

1. Stop replying. You don't owe a scammer an explanation.
2. Don't pay. Paying once never ends it; it tells them you will pay again.
3. Save the evidence before you block: screenshots of the profile, the chat, any numbers, UPI IDs or links they sent.
4. Report and block them on Bakkar from the chat or their profile. See what happens when you report.
5. Lost money? Call 1930 at once. The national cybercrime helpline can ask banks to freeze the money while it is still moving, so the first hours matter. Then file the complaint at cybercrime.gov.in.
6. Got the call or message on your phone? Report the number on Chakshu (Sanchar Saathi) within 30 days.
7. Tell someone you trust. Scams work best on people who feel alone with them. If it's weighing on you, Tele MANAS on 14416 is free and open 24x7.

Sources

• 1930 helpline and freezing fraudulent transactions (PIB)
• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal
• Chakshu: report suspected fraud calls and messages (Sanchar Saathi)