Jan 27, Kathmandu - Comedian Manoj Gajurel has successfully avoided falling victim to a widespread phishing scam disguised as a celebration of eSewa's 17th anniversary. The scam involved a fake message promising a ₹5,000 reward, which Gajurel narrowly escaped by not clicking on the malicious link that could have compromised his account.

In a social media post on Monday, Gajurel shared his experience, warning others about the scam. He stated, "I almost got caught! A message using E-Sewa's logo is circulating via WhatsApp, claiming that all customers will receive a bonus of ₹5,000 on the occasion of the 17th anniversary. According to eSewa, this is spam. Please beware of such fake messages; I nearly fell for it. Don't let greed for ₹5,000 drain your account!"

The scam lures victims with the promise of a gift worth ₹5,000. When users tap the ‘Claim’ button, a box appears prompting them to enter their mobile number. After submitting their number, they are instructed to share the link in five different WhatsApp groups to claim the reward.

Once the link is shared in five groups, a progress bar reportedly shows 100%, creating a false sense of completion. During this process, scammers attempt to access the victim’s account by trying to log in through their system.

After the progress reaches 100%, options such as ‘Verify,’ ‘Claim ₹5,000,’ or ‘Activate’ appear. Tapping these options redirects users to dubious links, potentially leading to the theft of personal information. Although the scam may not immediately prompt for OTP codes, it is commonly expected that PIN and OTP fields will appear afterwards, which, if filled, could give scammers control over the victims’ wallets.

The bottom section of the phishing link contains a ‘dummy’ post similar to one shared on Facebook, featuring fake comments claiming many people have received gifts. It is also claimed that over 18,000 users have already received rewards through this scam.

Due to the mandatory sharing requirement on Whatsapp, the scam link has spread widely, affecting numerous users.