Bengaluru cop falls to ‘like-and-subscribe’ scam, loses Rs 3.3 lakh

After realising he was cheated, he reported the incident to the police on August 29. According to his complaint, On August 1, Uttangi received a message from an individual introducing herself as Anjali Rathore. She invited Uttangi to join a Telegram group, assuring him of significant returns on investments in a private firm.

Despite his awareness of similar cybercrimes, Uttangi decided to respond to the message. According to the police, he was provided with a link and he promptly paid Rs 1,000 on the same day and diligently completed the assigned tasks, getting Rs 300 in returns. The following day, he made further payments of Rs 3,000 and Rs 1,000, receiving Rs 900 and Rs 300 in returns, respectively.

Eventually, Uttangi found himself drawn into the scheme, investing Rs 3.3 lakh in multiple transactions from various bank accounts, including those belonging to his friends and wife, said the police.

What is the ‘like-and-subscribe’ scam?

Cybercriminals have increasingly turned to popular messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram as their hunting grounds to trap unsuspecting individuals with promises of lucrative work-from-home opportunities and part-time jobs. The modus operandi in these scams primarily revolves around duping victims by enticing them to like and subscribe to YouTube videos, and recent reports have highlighted multiple cases where individuals have been swindled out of significant sums through these YouTube job scams.

The initial contact typically occurs on WhatsApp or Telegram, with scammers approaching potential victims by presenting enticing part-time job offers promising daily earnings of up to Rs 5,000. Once individuals accept the offer, they are added to a Telegram channel, overseen by the so-called ‘task manager,’ who assigns them their ‘work.’

Subsequently, victims are instructed to hit the ‘Like’ button on specific YouTube videos and then send screenshots of their actions to the ‘manager.’ As users diligently continue to engage with the YouTube content, their accumulated earnings are purportedly displayed on the scammer’s ‘job app’.

These earnings are merely for display, and the scammers have no intention of ever sending any money to the users. Instead, the cybercriminals take their deception a step further by demanding that users ‘invest’ a certain amount, often around Rs 5,000, to access their supposed accumulated earnings.

Once the money is transferred, the scammers vanish, blocking their victims on WhatsApp and Telegram. In the aftermath of the scam, victims are left without any means to communicate with their elusive ‘task manager’ or the HR figure who initially offered them the part-time job.

In some instances, scammers may also request users’ bank account details under the pretence of facilitating the transfer of their accumulated earnings. However, this ploy is designed to facilitate theft as cybercriminals proceed to siphon money from the victims’ accounts.