Explained part time jobs scam: Hello click on link for hotel rating, ED warns of fraud

Hyderabad: Online fake part-time job scams perpetuated mainly through WhatsApp have made victims out of many unemployed youth and homemakers in a desperate search for jobs.

Recently, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Hyderabad, provisionally attached Rs 32.34 crores lying as balance in 580 bank accounts under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002, in a case relating to a part-time job scam in the guise of review and ratings of websites, hotels, resorts, etc. During the investigation, it was revealed that more than 50 related FIRs have been registered at various police stations across the country in the part-time job scam.

The ED initiated the investigation based on an FIR registered by PS Cyber Crime, Hyderabad, under various sections of the Information Technology Act and IPC 1860, against unidentified persons.

How does the part-time job scam work?

- Approaching strangers with jobs

The ED investigation revealed that cyber scamsters would approach gullible persons on WhatsApp and Telegram apps and lure them by offering part-time jobs.

The job would look simple on the surface to make people stay. They would be given basic tasks such as giving 5-star ratings to tourist websites, hotels, resorts, tourist destinations, etc. with daily income ranging between Rs 1,000-1,500.

- Joining WhatsApp/Telegram groups

The victims are then asked to join certain WhatsApp and Telegram groups. In the group, the associates of scamsters would speak highly of the jobs and fake gratitude to the employers to gain the trust of the victims.

The victims would then be asked to register on bogus websites/android apps using their personal details including bank account numbers. To further lure them, the scammers would even offer e-money/tokens worth Rs 10,000 on the e-wallets on the bogus websites and apps.

- Gaining trust

The victims are asked to deposit money to various bank accounts to top-up their ‘online wallet’ which contains all their earnings. The wallet balance would get exhausted with every task set. The commission/earnings were initially allowed to be withdrawn to gain trust. Later, the agents on the WhatsApp/Telegram groups would coerce the victims to deposit additional money to work more and earn more.

- Losing money

During the tasks of providing ratings, random pop-ups would appear with premium tasks carrying higher commission/rewards but requiring more deposits leading to the wallet balances turning negative.

Victims are then asked to top up their wallets to continue to give ratings. In case of non-payment, the wallet balances were frozen and could not be withdrawn. The premium tasks would pop up more often requiring additional deposits from victims and the ones who could not pay would be coerced to anyhow deposit the money failing which their entire wallet balance would be forfeited.

- Getting ghosted

Even if the person completes all tasks by putting in more money, when the victims try to withdraw from their online wallets, the transactions would be declined citing random reasons and asking for depositing more money as a ‘refundable withdrawal fee.’ Even after some victims deposited such fees, the withdrawals could not be made and the WhatsApp agents would stop communicating.

Where do these gangs operate?

A majority of masterminds of the scam operate bank accounts and people in India from the UAE and collect a large number of bank account kits containing internet banking credentials, debit cards and chequebooks with related SIM cards sourced from several middlemen who got the bank accounts opened in the names of shell entities using fake/forged documents or obtained such kits for commission.

The recent ED investigation revealed that the scammers collected more than Rs 524 crores in more than 175 bank accounts, used only for a brief period ranging from 1-15 days and the money would be regularly diverted to other accounts. The money trail revealed that the scam money collected in these 175 bank accounts was transferred to more than 480 bank accounts and used mainly for purchasing cryptocurrencies, making hawala payments in India and remitting abroad in the guise of import payments.