The scams people report most, and how to avoid each one
1. Fake bKash, Nagad and bank calls asking for your PIN or OTP
Mobile financial services carried most of the payment fraud Bangladesh Bank recorded in 2025: Tk 813.26 million of the Tk 926.01 million lost, of which Tk 742.56 million was never recovered. Across all channels, reported cases peaked at 18,623 in April to June 2025. The method is old and still works. In July 2025 an army and police operation in Madhukhali, Faridpur, arrested five men after complaints from people who had been called by fraudsters posing as customer care staff of bKash, Nagad and other services and had given away their PINs and one-time passwords (OTPs). In June 2026 Chattogram district police arrested two men accused of taking over an MFS trader's Gmail and phone, deleting his wallet and banking apps and moving about Tk 7.5 lakh out of his bank accounts. Bangladesh Bank tightened "add money" transfers from bank cards to MFS wallets in May 2026 after complaints of money being moved from customers' cards without their knowledge; providers must comply by 31 December 2026.[1][4][6][2][3][5][7][8][9]
Reported in: Nationwide, by phone call, SMS and WhatsApp; money is usually moved on through MFS accounts and SIMs registered in other people's names
How it works
A caller says he is from bKash, Nagad, your bank or even the telecom regulator. Your account will be blocked, a prize or a refund is waiting, or your SIM or wallet details need "updating". To fix it you are asked to read out the code just sent to your phone, or your PIN. With your PIN and OTP the fraudster empties the wallet within minutes and sends the money through several other wallets.
Red flags
- Anyone asking for your MFS PIN, an OTP or a verification code, for any reason
- A threat that your wallet or account will be closed today
- A prize, refund or reward that needs a code or a fee
- An SMS from a sender calling itself BTRC, bank or MFS "info" asking for details
How to protect yourself
- Never share your PIN or an OTP, not even with someone who says he is from bKash, Nagad, your bank, the police or the BTRC
- Hang up and call the provider's official helpline from its app or card yourself
- Check how many SIMs are registered on your NID by dialling *16001#, and never let anyone register a SIM or wallet in your name
- Never open a wallet or account for someone else or receive money for them
If it happened to you
- Call your MFS provider or bank on its official number at once and ask it to block the account and the receiving wallet
- File a case or general diary at your nearest police station with the transaction IDs, numbers and times
- Keep screenshots, the caller's number and every SMS
- Speed matters: the recovery rate for MFS fraud was under 9 per cent in 2025 because money moves fast
Where to report: Your MFS provider or bank's official helpline first, then your nearest police station. Call 999 if you are in danger.
2. Hacked Facebook, WhatsApp and phone numbers, and cloned voices asking friends for money
In the Cyber Crime Awareness Foundation's 2024 study, hacking of social media and online accounts made up 21.65 per cent of the cyber crimes victims reported, the largest share, and only 12 per cent of victims went to the police. Once an account or number is taken, every contact who trusts that name is a target. In September 2026 the Chief Whip told parliament that he had received messages from the numbers of three MPs asking him to send Tk 50,000, Tk 30,000 and Tk 25,000 urgently, that MPs of both the ruling party and the opposition had been targeted, and that fraudsters were using hacked phones, voice cloning and forged signatures. The trick is not new: in 2020 fraudsters cloned an upazila officer's official number in Brahmanbaria and asked union chairmen to send money by bKash.[10][11][12][36][37]
Reported in: Nationwide, on Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger and by phone; officials, politicians and expatriates' families are frequent targets
How it works
Your account is taken through a fake login link, a code you were tricked into sharing or a weak password. The fraudster then messages your friends and family in your name, or calls with a voice that sounds like yours, with an emergency: a hospital bill, a stuck payment, a favour for an official. The money is to go to an MFS number at once.
Red flags
- A request for urgent money by message from a friend or senior person, with an excuse for not talking
- A voice call that sounds right but asks for secrecy and speed
- A login link or "security check" you did not ask for
- Anyone asking for the code sent to your phone
How to protect yourself
- Turn on two-step verification on Facebook and WhatsApp and never share a login code
- Before sending money, call the person back on a number you already know, or ask something only they would know
- Agree a family code word for real emergencies
- Do not open login links sent in messages; type the address yourself
If it happened to you
- Recover the account through the platform's official recovery page and log out other devices
- Warn your contacts at once from another account or by phone
- If money was sent, the sender should call the MFS provider immediately and file a case at a police station
- Women facing hacking or blackmail can contact Police Cyber Support for Women
Where to report: Your nearest police station; Police Cyber Support for Women for women victims; the MFS provider if money was sent.
3. Fake investment groups, Telegram "tasks" and part-time online jobs
The CID has been arresting members of rings that run fake investment groups on Telegram. In January 2026 it said one ring opened groups under the names of foreign investment platforms, filled them with its own members who posted invented profits, and collected victims' money through bank and MFS accounts opened in the names of third parties. In October 2026 it arrested a woman in Uttara over a case in which a businessman was offered a part-time job rating tourist spots on a website copied from a foreign company, was paid at first, then moved into an investment group and lost Tk 24.19 lakh. In January 2026 the Detective Branch said a Telegram job-and-investment ring it broke up had collected bKash and Nagad agent SIMs registered in other people's names; police recovered 51,251 SIM cards. Offline schemes work the same way: in May 2026 the CID arrested a suspect in a fake fisheries and agro project that promised Tk 3,000 a month on every Tk 1 lakh and is estimated to have collected about Tk 400 crore. In March 2026 the CID brought back about $3.62 million sent abroad from MTFE, a trading platform it described as a multi-level marketing scheme promising high returns.[13][14][9][15][16][17][33]
Reported in: Telegram and WhatsApp groups, Facebook ads, fake trading sites and local "projects" with offices that close overnight
How it works
You are offered easy daily earnings for liking videos, rating places or "boosting" products, or invited to a group where members post big profits. The first small payments are real. Then you must deposit more to unlock higher levels or withdraw your balance, and each deposit leads to a new fee. In the end the group, the website and the office disappear.
Red flags
- Fixed or guaranteed monthly returns, or money that doubles
- Being paid for simple tasks, then asked to deposit to continue
- A group full of strangers posting screenshots of profits
- A fee or "tax" before you can withdraw
- Payments to personal bank or MFS accounts instead of a licensed company
How to protect yourself
- Treat any job that asks you to pay first as a scam
- Leave groups that promise fixed returns; real investments carry risk and are licensed
- Never pay a "withdrawal fee" to get your own money out
- Bangladesh Bank says operating or using payment services without its licence is illegal; do not send money through unlicensed payment platforms
If it happened to you
- Stop paying at once; more deposits never unlock the balance
- File a case at your police station with screenshots of the group, the site and every payment
- Tell your bank or MFS provider which transfers went to the fraudsters
Where to report: Your nearest police station; cases like these are investigated by the CID and the Detective Branch. Your bank or MFS provider for the transfers.
4. Fake overseas jobs and visas, including Gulf jobs
For anyone planning to work in the Gulf this is the section to read first. The Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) received 1,112 complaints against recruiting agencies, middlemen and employers in the first half of 2023 alone, and experts said many more victims never complain. Recent cases show the usual patterns. In May 2026 RAB arrested two people in Mirpur accused of taking Tk 35 million for jobs in Australia, Kuwait and Europe advertised on Facebook, then handing over fake visas. In June 2026 the CID arrested three people at a travel agency in Badda that, it said, had no recruiting licence, used a Jordanian factory's name and seal without permission and took Tk 2 to 2.5 lakh from each job seeker; 55 passports were seized. In the same month the Detective Branch arrested a man accused of taking money for supposed government projects in Qatar and giving the victim a fake visa and air ticket. Saudi Arabia is the largest market, and Prothom Alo has reported workers who paid Tk 3.5 to 3.8 lakh for promised jobs and found no job or only a three-month residence permit on arrival. Fake offers also lead to trafficking: in 2026 the Daily Star reported men lured to Cambodia with restaurant jobs and forced into scam centres, and in October 2026 the SRB said 30 men promised construction jobs in Russia had been sent to the war, where at least 20 died.[24][18][19][21][23][25][27][20][22][26][28][29][42][43][44][46][49]
Reported in: Facebook pages, WhatsApp, local brokers (dalal) and unlicensed travel agencies, nationwide
How it works
A broker or Facebook page offers a well-paid job abroad, sometimes with an offer letter or a visa copy. You pay for the visa, ticket and "processing", often in cash or into personal accounts, and far above the government-fixed cost. You may be sent on a tourist or visit visa and told it will be converted, or given forged papers. On arrival there is no job, a different job, a short permit or no employer at all.
Red flags
- An agency that cannot show a valid recruiting licence (RL) number, or a travel agency recruiting workers
- Cash payments without a receipt, or more than the government-fixed migration cost
- Being told to travel on a tourist, visit, study or Umrah visa to work
- No written contract in Bangla before BMET emigration clearance
- Jobs in Southeast Asia or Russia with high pay and no checks
How to protect yourself
- Check the agency's RL number and status (active, suspended, cancelled or expired) on BMET's official agency list before paying anything
- Under the 2025 recruiting rules the agency must display the government-fixed migration cost and wage for each country, take money only through a bank or against a receipt, and give you the original contract with a Bangla translation before emigration clearance
- The same rules bar agencies from using tourist, study or Umrah visas for overseas jobs; travel to work only on a work visa with BMET clearance
- Check a Gulf job offer with that country's labour ministry; in the UAE, offers approved by MOHRE carry a serial number and barcode you can verify
If it happened to you
- File a case at the police station; cases like these are investigated by the CID's anti-trafficking unit and RAB
- Complain to BMET or call the Probash Bondhu call centre 16135 (from abroad +88 09610 102 030)
- If you are already abroad, contact the labour wing of the Bangladesh embassy or consulate and the host country's labour ministry
- Keep the advert, offer letter, receipts, passport copies and chats
Where to report: Police station or 999; BMET and the Probash Bondhu call centre 16135; the ministry's complaint cell by email (minister.expat@gmail.com) for Bangladeshis abroad. Abroad: the Bangladesh mission and the host country's labour ministry and police.
5. People posing as officials, police and detectives
Some fraudsters borrow power. In January 2026 the CID's Cyber Police Centre arrested a man accused of posing on WhatsApp as the Home Affairs Adviser, sending misleading political messages to the Rajshahi deputy commissioner and asking him to send Tk 1 lakh at once to a personal bKash number; the CID said he had a record of impersonating senior officials. In August 2026 the Police Bureau of Investigation in Chattogram said it had identified at least ten groups committing crimes while posing as law enforcers, after arresting a member of a gang accused of abducting and robbing a gold trader while posing as Detective Branch officers. Job seekers are targeted too: Police Headquarters has warned constable candidates that recruitment is on merit and that anyone promising a post for money will face legal action.[30][31][32][41]
Reported in: Nationwide, by WhatsApp, phone and in person
How it works
Someone claiming to be a senior official, a police or DB officer or a minister's aide offers a job, a favour or protection, or says you are under investigation, and wants money first. Some gangs posing as detectives have abducted and robbed people.
Red flags
- An "official" who contacts you on WhatsApp and wants money sent to a personal MFS number
- Anyone offering a government or police job for money
- Plain-clothes "officers" who will not show identity or go to a police station
- Pressure to keep the deal secret
How to protect yourself
- Government and police jobs are never sold; recruitment is on merit
- Check any request by calling the office on its published number
- If people claiming to be police stop you, ask for identity and to go to the nearest police station, or call 999
If it happened to you
- Report the person to the nearest police station or the office of the Superintendent of Police
- Keep chats, numbers and receipts
- Call 999 if you are being taken away or threatened
Where to report: Nearest police station or Superintendent of Police office; 999 in an emergency.
6. Illegal loan apps and fake "low-interest loan" offers
On 18 October 2026 Bangladesh Bank warned the public against mobile apps that offer unauthorised online loans, saying they can access users' contacts, personal information, photos, videos and messages and use them to blackmail borrowers and threaten to publish private pictures. It said lending through such apps without its approval is illegal under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2024, and that borrowers who use them could themselves be drawn into unlawful activity. The same day it warned against 22 unlicensed online payment platforms. A second version uses big names: in November 2025 the CID's Cyber Police Centre arrested a member of a ring that used the World Bank's name and logo on WhatsApp and a fake website to offer loans of Tk 10 lakh at 2 per cent, then took fees in stages for "charges, VAT, insurance and processing"; one victim lost Tk 247,448. The CID said no government or international agency gives loans through Facebook, unknown numbers or suspicious websites.[33][34][37]
Reported in: Nationwide, through app links, Facebook ads, WhatsApp and look-alike websites
How it works
An app or ad promises a quick loan with no papers. Either you pay a fee and never receive a loan, or you receive a small amount, are charged far more than agreed, and are threatened with your own photos and contact list when you cannot pay.
Red flags
- A fee demanded before the loan is paid out
- An app that wants access to your contacts, gallery and messages
- A famous organisation offering loans on WhatsApp or Facebook
- Payment to a personal MFS number
How to protect yourself
- Borrow only from banks and licensed financial institutions
- Refuse app permissions to contacts and photos, and install apps only from the official store
- Never pay a fee to receive a loan
If it happened to you
- Do not pay more to stop threats; keep every message and call record
- File a case at your police station; women can also contact Police Cyber Support for Women
- Tell your contacts not to respond to the lender's messages
Where to report: Your nearest police station; Police Cyber Support for Women (01320000888) for women facing threats.
7. Fake marriage proposals, romance and sextortion
In January 2026 the CID arrested a man accused of using a fake identity on a Facebook matrimonial page to "marry" a Bangladeshi woman living in the United States over the phone, taking money from her repeatedly on the promise of joining her, then secretly recording video calls and blackmailing her; the CID said about $125,000 was collected through bank transfers and MFS. The 2024 Cyber Crime Awareness Foundation study found that three quarters of the cyber crime victims it surveyed were women and that crimes linked to pornography affected 11.35 per cent. Bangladesh Police runs Police Cyber Support for Women, an all-women service that helps victims of cyber crime and keeps their information confidential.[35][10][36][37]
Reported in: Facebook matrimonial pages, dating apps, WhatsApp and video calls; expatriates and their families are frequent targets
How it works
A charming profile, often claiming to live abroad, moves fast towards marriage or a relationship, arranges video calls with "relatives" and then asks for money for travel, papers or an emergency. Calls may be recorded and used for blackmail.
Red flags
- A suitor who cannot meet in person but needs money for travel or documents
- Pressure for private photos or intimate video calls
- A demand for money with a threat to share images
How to protect yourself
- Verify a proposal through family and in person before sending money
- Do not share intimate photos or videos online
- Keep your profile and photos private
If it happened to you
- Do not pay; payment usually brings more demands
- Keep screenshots of the profile, chats and threats, then block
- Contact Police Cyber Support for Women or your nearest police station
Where to report: Police Cyber Support for Women: hotline 01320000888, its Facebook page or email; or your nearest police station.
8. Fake Facebook shops, discount pages and ticket sellers
bdnews24 found Facebook pages that offered phones, air conditioners and toys at abnormally high discounts, insisted on payment in advance, posted fake buyer comments and vanished after complaints; companies whose names were misused complained to the police and the BTRC. The government had made cash on delivery the rule for e-commerce sellers after earlier scandals, and these pages never offer it. In July 2026 the CID arrested the administrator of a Facebook group over posts selling tickets for a Dhaka concert using pictures of tickets from a cancelled show; the organisers said he demanded Tk 1 lakh to remove the posts.[38][39]
Reported in: Facebook pages and groups, nationwide
How it works
A page or group offers a big discount or hard-to-get tickets and asks for full or partial payment by MFS before delivery. Comments from "happy buyers" are fake. After payment the seller stops answering, and the page reopens under a new name.
Red flags
- Prices far below the market
- No cash on delivery, payment by MFS in advance only
- A new page with few real reviews and many identical comments
- Tickets sold outside the organiser's official channel
How to protect yourself
- Pay on delivery, or buy from the brand or organiser's official channels
- Search the page name and phone number with the word "fraud" before paying
- Keep the page link, chats and payment receipts
If it happened to you
- Report the page to Facebook and warn others
- File a case at your police station with the page link and transaction IDs
- Ask your MFS provider about the receiving number at once
Where to report: Your nearest police station; your MFS provider for the payment.
City by city
Dhaka
Most published cases come from the capital. In 2026 alone the CID, RAB and the Detective Branch reported: a Telegram job-and-investment ring with 51,251 SIM cards (January); the arrest of four people in Diabari, Turag, over Tk 5.47 million taken from a retired additional secretary with a job offer and a "business partnership" (April); a fake fisheries project arrest in Basabo (May); fake Australian visas sold from an office in Mirpur (May); a travel agency in North Badda recruiting for Jordan without a licence (June); fake Qatar "projects" and a fake visa (June); a concert ticket scam on Facebook (July); and, in October, arrests in Azampur over a fake US job offer letter and in Uttara over a part-time job and investment scheme.[9][17][15][18][19][21][39][20][14]
- Before paying any agency in Dhaka for a job abroad, check its RL number on BMET's agency list
- Be wary of offices that promise jobs or returns and ask for payment in cash or into personal accounts
Where to report: Your nearest police station in Dhaka, or 999 in an emergency.
Chattogram and Cox's Bazar
In September 2026 police in Chattogram's Khulshi arrested 63 foreign nationals in a building where 134 phones and 57 laptops were allegedly being used for online scams and gambling; the Daily Star later reported that this raid and another in Cox's Bazar raised fears that scam syndicates were moving operations to Bangladesh. In June 2026 district police arrested two men over about Tk 7.5 lakh taken from an MFS trader in Satkania after his Gmail and phone were taken over. In August 2026 the PBI in Chattogram said it had identified at least ten groups posing as law enforcers, after a gold trader was abducted and robbed by men claiming to be DB officers. The suspect in the January 2026 fake marriage blackmail case was arrested in Lohagara.[40][25][6][31][35]
- MFS agents and traders: protect your email and phone with two-step verification; account takeovers start there
- Ask people claiming to be police for identity and to go to a police station
Where to report: Your nearest police station; 999 in an emergency.
Sylhet
We found only one recent published case report from Sylhet in the sources we could open, so this section is short. In December 2025 police arrested a couple accused of taking around Tk 2 crore from young people in Sylhet, many of them IELTS holders who sold jewellery and land to pay Tk 15 to 22 lakh each, for UK work-permit visas that turned out to be backed by forged documents; they ran a travel agency in Zindabazar and went into hiding before being arrested in Jashore. The advice is the same as for Gulf jobs: check the licence, insist on receipts and verify any visa with the official authority of the destination country.[22][43]
Where to report: Sylhet Kotwali Model Police Station or your nearest police station; BMET and 16135 for recruitment complaints.
Faridpur, Rajshahi and other districts
Several of the cases above come from outside the big cities. The MFS customer-care ring broken up in July 2025 was based in Dumain, Madhukhali upazila, Faridpur, although its victims were in many districts. The fake Home Adviser messages of January 2026 were sent to the deputy commissioner of Rajshahi. The fake World Bank loan suspect was arrested in Lakshmipur in November 2025. A man repatriated from a Cambodian scam centre in 2026 came from Shariatpur. Fraud by phone and online does not depend on where you live.[4][30][34][25]
Where to report: Your nearest police station; 999 in an emergency.
Where to report a scam in Bangladesh
Channels named on official Bangladeshi government pages or in official statements reported by the press. If you are in danger, call 999.
| Situation | Channel | Source |
|---|---|---|
| You are in danger or a crime is happening now | National Emergency Service 999 (with an English-language service since February 2025) | Bangladesh Police, as reported by The Daily Star |
| Money taken from your bKash, Nagad or bank account | Your provider's official helpline at once (number in its app or on your card), then a case or general diary at the nearest police station | Bangladesh Bank data and police case reports |
| Online fraud, hacking, fake investments or blackmail | Your nearest police station; cases are investigated by the CID's Cyber Police Centre, the Detective Branch and other units | CID statements reported by TBS and Bonik Barta |
| A woman facing cyber harassment, hacking or blackmail | Police Cyber Support for Women: hotline 01320000888, Facebook page or email | Police Headquarters; Prothom Alo |
| An illegal loan app or unlicensed payment platform | Do not use it; Bangladesh Bank names unlicensed platforms in public warnings | Bangladesh Bank, as reported by TBS |
| A fake recruiting agent, broker or visa | Police station or 999; BMET; check the agency on BMET's official list | BMET; CID and RAB statements |
| Help or a complaint as a migrant worker or family member | Probash Bondhu call centre 16135 (toll-free), +88 09610 102 030 from abroad; online complaint through grs.gov.bd | Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare |
| A Bangladeshi abroad with a complaint | The ministry's Complaint Settlement and Redress Cell: minister.expat@gmail.com; the labour wing of the Bangladesh mission | Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare |
| Information on government services | National helpline 333 (09666789333 from abroad) | 333 national helpline |
Bangladesh Bank's 2025 data show that most money lost to MFS fraud was never recovered because it moves quickly through several wallets, so report within minutes, with transaction IDs, numbers, times and screenshots.
Six habits that stop most of these scams
The warnings from Bangladesh Bank, the police, the CID, the BTRC and the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare come down to a few rules.
- Never share your MFS PIN, an OTP, a password or a login code with anyone
- Hang up and call your provider or bank on the number in its app or on your card
- Turn on two-step verification on Facebook and WhatsApp, and call back before sending money to anyone who asks by message
- Never pay to get a job, a loan, a government post or a favour
- Use only licensed recruiting agencies and travel to work only on a work visa with BMET clearance
- Never let anyone register a SIM, MFS account or bank account in your name for them
If you have lost money: the first hour
Less than one taka in ten lost to MFS fraud in 2025 was recovered. Speed is your best chance.
- Call your MFS provider or bank's official helpline and ask it to block your account and the receiving number
- Go to the nearest police station with transaction IDs, amounts, times and the fraudster's numbers
- Keep screenshots, links, chats and receipts
- Ignore anyone who offers to recover your money for a fee
If the scam happened while you were working in the Gulf
Many of our readers live in the Gulf. If you were cheated there, whether by an employer, an agent or an online fraud, you can complain to the police and labour authorities of the country where you work, not only in Bangladesh; our scam guides for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain, linked below, list their channels in full. The labour wing of the Bangladesh embassy or consulate can help, and the ministry's complaint cell takes complaints by email. If the person who cheated you is in Bangladesh, or the money went to a Bangladeshi account or wallet, the Bangladeshi channels above also apply.
- UAE: MOHRE on 80084, or 600 590000 to check a job offer; Dubai Police app, eCrime platform or 901; Abu Dhabi Police Aman 800 2626
- Saudi Arabia: the labour ministry's friendly settlement service, 19911, or a complaint through Qiwa; domestic workers through Musaned
- Qatar: the Ministry of Labour's Unified Complaints and Disputes Platform
- Oman: the Ministry of Labour complaints e-service, 80077000
- Kuwait: the Public Authority for Manpower's labour complaint service, which is separate from reporting a violation
- Bahrain: Ministry of Labour complaints, 17873637 or 17873919; the LMRA hotline 995
- In Bangladesh: police or 999 for the agent who sent you, BMET and 16135, and your Bangladeshi bank or MFS provider
Before you go abroad: three checks
The rules issued in July 2025 for recruiting agencies give you three simple checks.
- The agency's RL number shows as active on BMET's official list, and its office signboard shows its name, address and licence number
- You pay only the government-fixed migration cost, through a bank or against a receipt
- You receive the original contract with a Bangla translation before BMET clearance, and you travel on a work visa, never a tourist, study or Umrah visa