Fake Product Review and Rating Task Scam by SMS

How it looks by SMS, the red flags and what to do.

SMS scams lean on short, urgent lines and a shortened link. The message looks official because the sender name (header) is shaped to resemble a real organisation. Fake Product Review and Rating Task Scam is one of the ways this shows up: You are paid a few rupees to rate products, then asked to deposit money for bigger tasks that never pay out. Learn how the review task works.

What fake product review and rating task scam looks like by SMS

• A request to call a number, install an app or share an OTP.
• Several near-identical messages arriving together from different senders.
• A sender name that resembles a bank, courier, tax or utility, or an ordinary mobile number.

The set-up is a message from an unknown number, sometimes claiming to be an e-commerce partner. It says it needs ratings for products to improve their rankings. You are added to a chat group where other members post screenshots of earnings. Most of those members are bots or the scammer's own accounts. The first payments are small and real because they cost the scammer very little.

Red flags to check on the text message

• The work requires only likes, ratings or reviews, yet promises high daily pay.
• A small first payout is used to build trust before a larger deposit is asked.
• You are asked to deposit money to unlock tasks or release your earnings.
• The group is full of screenshots of payments but no one can be reached directly.
• It promises a refund, prize or cashback you never asked for.
• It tells you to install an app from a link instead of the official store.

What to do

1. Stop the task and do not send any further deposit, however close you are to the withdrawal.
2. Treat any job that asks you to pay in order to earn as a scam.
3. Leave the group and do not share Aadhaar, PAN or bank details.
4. Open the official app or type the official website yourself to see if there is any real notice.
5. Paste the text into a scam checker (Safeavio Sentinel can check it) before you do anything else.
6. Report the sender on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility) and block the number.

You can report suspicious SMS and calls on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility) of the Department of Telecommunications.

If money or a code is already gone

1. Call 1930 straight away and report at cybercrime.gov.in with each payment reference.
2. Tell your bank through its official app so it can note the receiving accounts.
3. Save the chat, screenshots of the dashboard and payment receipts.
4. Do not pay the 'tax' or 'fee' to withdraw; it only leads to another demand.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930; report at cybercrime.gov.in.

Paste the job message into Scam check in Safeavio Sentinel and it shows the reasons it looks risky, such as a promise of easy money and a request to pay first. Link check can look at the app or dashboard link before you open it. Money Shield reminds you to verify before sending any deposit. Safeavio cannot tell you who runs the group and cannot recover money sent as deposits.

Full guide: Fake Product Review and Rating Task Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: WhatsApp, social media, fake app.

Questions