Hyderabad software engineer loses ₹2.19 lakh in fake Instagram voice-actor job scam
HYDERABAD: A 23-year-old software engineer from Manikonda lodged a complaint alleging she was cheated of ₹2.19 lakh after being lured into a fake online job promising payments for voice reviews and Google ratings.
According to the complaint, the victim came across an advertisement on Instagram on January 7, 2026, claiming recruitment of voice actors. After registering through the link, she received a WhatsApp message from a number introducing the role as providing voice reviews for hotels and restaurants.
She was asked to read out a sample review and send it as an audio clip. After this, she was directed to contact a “receptionist” on Telegram, who credited ₹160 as a sign-in bonus and added her to a group where daily tasks involved posting Google reviews.
Prepaid tasks and fake trading platform
The complainant stated that while initial tasks promised regular payouts, some were labelled “pre-paid tasks”, requiring users to deposit money to join specific groups. These groups were supervised by a person identifying himself as a “teacher” on Telegram.
She paid ₹1,000 to join the first pre-paid task and was asked to create an account on a website, www.nse898.cfd, where she was instructed to buy stocks. Virtual profits were shown in her account, and she was allowed to withdraw money after completing the task.
Encouraged by an initial profit of ₹300, she continued making payments of ₹1,000 and ₹2,000 in subsequent tasks. As the task level increased, a new Telegram “receptionist” was assigned to her.
Escalating payments, blocked withdrawal
The complaint said the final task involved payments of ₹3,000, ₹12,000 and ₹40,000. During one group task, she and another participant were told they had bought the wrong stock, leading to their accounts being “frozen”.
She was then asked to make additional payments of ₹60,000 and later ₹1,00,000 to “unfreeze” the account. While other participants were allowed to withdraw funds, she was informed that her credit score had dropped from 100 to 80.
When she attempted to withdraw the amount, she was told by the platform’s online customer service that she needed to restore her credit score by paying ₹5,000 per point, totalling ₹1 lakh. Unable to arrange more money, she realised she had been defrauded.
₹2.19 lakh transferred, complaint filed
The victim said she had transferred a total of ₹2,19,100 through bank accounts and UPI IDs linked to the fraudsters. Though the platform displayed a virtual profit of ₹2,99,500, she was again asked to pay ₹1 lakh to withdraw it.
She later discovered that the website and the investment platform were forged and approached the police seeking legal action against the owners and managers of the fraudulent domain, along with the Telegram and WhatsApp handlers involved.
Police are expected to examine the complaint under relevant sections related to online cheating and cyber fraud.
