INCOME TAX19 Oct 2026
Fake Google review jobs cost Visakhapatnam residents ₹1 crore
Over 20 people in Visakhapatnam reportedly lost a combined ₹1 crore in a month to a scam that began with paid Google review tasks. Victims were paid small amounts first, then pushed to deposit more. When they tried to withdraw, they were told their accounts were frozen and asked to pay again. Individual losses ran from ₹2 lakh to ₹9 lakh.
Key Statutory Highlights
- One 38-year-old man was contacted on Telegram with offers of ₹100 to ₹200 per task, then steered towards an online trading platform.
- He was paid ₹120 for a task, then got ₹630 back on a ₹500 deposit and ₹4,300 on ₹3,000, which built his trust.
- The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal advisory names blocked withdrawals and repeated demands for extra charges as warning signs of task-based job fraud.
Actionable Advice for Taxpayers / Founders:Watch for the sign the source names: being asked to pay more to release money already shown in your account. Claims of frozen accounts, trading errors or a credit-score requirement should not be accepted without independent verification.
Statutory Disclaimer: TaxQue Shorts are AI-assisted editorial briefs for compliance awareness. This brief has not passed every source check; confirm the original notification before acting. This does not constitute formal legal or CA counsel.
TaxQue News Desk
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