Govt Blocks 100 Websites Scamming People Via Task-Based Job Offers

According to the Union home ministry on Wednesday, the Centre has blacklisted 100 websites that are involved in task-based economic frauds, organised investment, and the export of criminal earnings.

On the advice of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ National Cybercrime Threat Analysis Unit (NCTAU), the websites have been prohibited by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) (MHA).
Over 100 websites involved in organised investment/task-based, part-time employment frauds were found and recommended by NCTAU last week. MeitY has restricted these websites by using its authority under the Information Technology Act of 2000, according to a statement from MHA.

The government claimed that these websites made it easier for foreign players to carry out task-based or organised unlawful investment-related economic crimes. Digital advertisements, chat messengers, and mule/rented accounts were purportedly used by foreign actors for the same purpose.

“It was also discovered that international fintech companies, card networks, cryptocurrency, and foreign ATM withdrawals were used to launder the proceeds from the large-scale economic frauds out of India,” the ministry stated.

Regarding these frauds, numerous complaints had been received via the NCRP (National Cybercrime Reporting Portal) and the 1930 helpline.

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“These offences were posing significant threats to the citizens and also involved data security concerns,” the government stated.

Usually, targeted digital ads on sites like Google and Meta with keywords like “Ghar baithe job (jobs while sitting at home)” or “Ghar baithe kamai kaise karen (how to earn money while sitting at home)” in several languages from foreign advertisers are the first step in the frauds. The majority of targets are women, young people without jobs searching for part-time work, and retired employees.

After a user clicks on the advertisement, a WhatsApp/Telegram agent initiates contact with the potential victim, persuading him or her to complete easy-seeming actions like “likes” on videos, subscribing, and rating maps. The victim receives a commission when the task is finished, and they are then requested to invest additional money to receive higher profits on the work they have done. The statement claimed that “after gaining confidence, when the victim deposits a larger sum, deposits are frozen and victim is duped.”

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A cyber-safe India, according to the statement, is “one of the top priorities of the MHA.

“Union Home Minister Amit Shah is committed to curbing cybercrime and protecting people from cyber threat actors. Citizens are also advised to promptly report phone numbers and social media handles used by such fraudsters to the NCRP www.cybercrime.gov.in”, it said.