A new internet fraud has arisen, in which criminals encourage people to write restaurant review on Google and offer ratings, only to take their money. A West Sagarpur resident recently filed a complaint with the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal. He said that a woman approached him over WhatsApp. This woman offered the option to make money by reviewing restaurants on Google.
Not a few, but certainly a popular scam in India is taking advantage of unaware individuals searching for quick money online. One of the biggest scam of the year. Exposure reveals the involvement of over 15,000 people in India, resulting in a total loss of more than INR 700 crore. It turns out that the scam works by convincing innocent consumers to leave Google reviews and like YouTube videos in exchange for monetary rewards.
Someone in Hyderabad reported the most recent instance of this fraud. According to him, the complainant lost INR 28,00,000/- to the scam and reported it to the local crime branch.
The criminal branch said that 48 bank accounts were created against shell firms. Resulting in a total theft of INR 584 crore from consumers. It later discovered an additional 113 bank accounts worth INR 128 crore, bringing the total to more than INR 700 crore.
Later, they will transport the money to China via Dubai and convert it into untraceable cryptocurrency. The Hyderabad Police discovered that the terror group Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, participated in the scam, funneling part of the money to themselves.
The police have detained two persons in Ahmedabad, three in Mumbai, and four in Hyderabad, while six more are awaiting arrest in connection with this fraud.
What is the review scam about
A “write restaurant review scam on Google” usually includes people who offer money or benefits for writing fake, usually positive, restaurant reviews on Google Maps. This approach is misleading and harmful for a variety of reasons.
I also got a scam
I once received a Whatsapp message offering a freelancing work for submitting reviews on Google Maps. With each review costing 50rs and paid after completing three jobs. Total of 24 jobs every day, however in between these activities. The prepaid tasks required you to spend an amount ranging from $2,000 to $90,000, and after 10 minutes You would receive your money back plus 50% more.
They will invite you to a Telegram group and you will start reviewing and getting paid. When jobs are done. In that group, a lot of fraudsters upload screenshots of paying for prepaid tasks like 10, 40, 90k and earning additional money for it. It’s only a trap. Initially, they pay you to establish trust, but eventually, they trap you with an enormous amount of debt.
An unknown caller asked me to write a review of an Indian restaurant for payment.
I believe it’s a scam. Today a girl contacted me from unknown number,
Because I was already aware of it, I chose to play them. They first paid me 200 rupees to submit a review on Google Maps. So that I would believe them, and then they invited me to a group with a large number of individuals in which they gave daily tasks.
The drawback is that you won’t get paid if you skip any of the tasks. In my situation, job 6 required me to give them at least 1000 rupees. So I completed 1-3 tasks in order to scam them for an additional 90 rupees. Never pay money to an unknown person, even if they show they’re real.
Yes, it’s a scam. A bot contacted me about a work opportunity and connected me to a Telegram group. They paid me 200 INR for a review on Maps.
This is 100% scam, careful of these scammers, do a few reviews, take money, and if they ask for any money for any task. Do not pay from your end. Make few INR and block their numbers; don’t fall into the trap of completing all tasks.
They have come to scam you. They will ask you to pay a few thousand for this work after earning your confidence. The moment you pay, you are took away, and they succeed.
