Work-from-home searches attract more fraud than almost any other money query in India, so it helps to compare real and fake offers directly. Use the table below on any offer you receive, or paste the message into our free job offer scam checker to flag the warning signs automatically.
Genuine vs fake, signal by signal
| Signal | Genuine work from home | Fake work from home |
|---|---|---|
| Who contacts whom | You apply, or a client finds your work | An unknown number messages you first |
| Money at the start | You are never asked to pay | Registration fee, training kit, deposit or 'activation' |
| How pay is described | Per hour, per piece or a salary, varying with output | A fixed daily amount for simple tasks |
| The work itself | Writing, tutoring, support, design, bookkeeping, editing | Liking videos, rating hotels, captcha typing, copy-paste |
| Selection | An interview, a test task or samples | 'No interview, no experience needed, anyone can join' |
| Company details | A registered name, an address and an official email domain | A free email address, a WhatsApp number and a Telegram group |
| Paperwork | An offer letter or written terms | Nothing in writing, or a document full of errors |
| How income grows | Better skills, better clients, higher rates | Bigger deposits, 'VIP levels' or recruiting people |
| What they ask for | Your work, and payment details to pay you | OTPs, UPI PIN, card details or a screen-sharing app |
The fake job formats that keep coming back
- Like, review and rating tasks: small payouts first, then prepaid or 'VIP' tasks that need your deposit.
- Data entry, form filling and captcha typing with a 'security deposit', or a penalty for errors that you must pay before you can withdraw.
- Pen packing, envelope packing or similar home assembly work, where you pay for a starter kit and the promised buyback never happens.
- Offer letters in a real company's name, followed by fees for training, a laptop or document verification.
- Jobs abroad that need you to pay for a visa or 'processing'. Recruitment agents for overseas jobs must be registered, and the Ministry of External Affairs lists registered agents on its eMigrate portal.
Verify an employer in ten minutes
- Search the company's exact name with words like 'fraud' or 'complaint' and read beyond the first result.
- Check the company on the MCA portal and its GSTIN on the GST portal. How to check if a company is genuine shows exactly where.
- Match the recruiter's email domain to the company's official website. Real companies rarely recruit from free email addresses.
- Ask for a video interview and written terms. Fraudsters avoid both.
- Never pay, share an OTP or install a screen-sharing app as part of hiring.
What genuinely pays from home
Real options exist and pay steadily once you have proof of your work: freelance writing, online tutoring, virtual assistance, remote customer support, bookkeeping, and design or video editing. Our guide to earning money from home gives realistic rupee ranges for each, and the guides to data entry jobs and captcha typing jobs cover two of the most abused job titles.
What to do next
- Save this table and use it on the next offer you receive.
- Check any job message with the scam checker.
- Use Earnwise to find genuine options that fit your skills and hours.
Your next step
Turn this guide into your own earning plan
Earnwise asks about your skills and free time, then matches you to the options that fit, with realistic monthly ranges. Sign in to save your plan and tick off the steps.
Build my earning planGot a job offer on WhatsApp? Run it through the scam checker before you pay anything.
