Prepaid Task Telegram Group Scam

A Telegram group has you 'buy' items and promises the money back with commission. The merchant page is fake and each round demands a bigger deposit.

After a first harmless task, a recruiter moves you to a Telegram group and introduces prepaid tasks. You are told to place orders for products on a merchant page, paying from your own money, and to receive the amount back plus a commission within minutes. The page is not a shop. It is a screen under the scammer's control, and the commission is a number on it that you cannot withdraw.

How the scam works

The set-up is a professional looking 'platform' with a login, a wallet balance and a list of orders. A guide explains the steps on a video call or in chat. You deposit a small sum, say Rs 1,000, complete a task and see a payout of Rs 1,300 appear in your wallet on the page. Sometimes a small real amount is sent to your bank, which looks like confirmation.

Then the tasks become 'combination orders'. A rule appears that your balance has gone negative or a bundle of items must be completed together, which needs a larger payment. You are told that quitting now means losing the earlier deposit. The group chat shows other people completing the same orders and being praised, though they are accounts run by the scammer.

The payoff is the deposits that pile up. Each stage asks for several thousand rupees more, with the promise that the whole balance can be withdrawn after the final one. When you request a withdrawal, a verification fee or a tax appears. Because you have already put in a lot, you feel you must continue. Eventually the account is blocked, and nothing can be withdrawn.

An example of what you may see

Example Telegram message (invented): 'Order 14 of 40 is a combination order. Your balance is short by Rs 12,400. Complete payment to continue and your total of Rs 38,000 plus commission will be released after order 40. If you quit now, the system cannot refund your earlier deposit.' The negative balance trick, the pressure not to quit and the promise of a full release at the end are all part of the script.

This example is written for illustration. Real messages change their wording, names and links all the time.

Red flags

• You pay for products from your own wallet to earn commission.
• The shop page is only reachable through the group.
• A balance goes negative and needs a bigger top-up.
• You are told that quitting means losing everything.
• A tax or verification fee blocks the withdrawal.
• Other members only post praise and payout screenshots.

What to do right now

1. Stop paying and do not top up the balance.
2. Screenshot the page, the group and every payment receipt.
3. Do not share more ID or bank details.
4. Leave the group after saving the evidence, and block the admin.
5. Warn anyone you invited.

If you already paid or shared a code

1. Call 1930 quickly and give payee names, accounts and amounts.
2. Ask your bank through the number on your card to flag the transfers.
3. File a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in with the Telegram group name and screenshots.
4. Ignore anyone offering to recover your money for a fee.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930. Report online at cybercrime.gov.in. Do it fast: the sooner your bank is told, the better the chance that money can be held.

Where this scam shows up

Read how it looks on each channel:

How Safeavio helps

Safeavio Sentinel's scam check reads the chat text you paste and shows reasons such as a deposit for commission, a balance trick and a withdrawal fee. The link check lets you paste the platform address first and flags lookalike or risky patterns. Money Shield gives a checklist before sending money. It cannot examine a closed group or recover money, so keep your evidence and report.

• Scam checks
• Phishing checks

Questions people ask

Other scams in this group

Also known as: Telegram earning group fraud, prepaid task scam, merchant order task scam, commission task fraud. More job and easy-money scams