Ballia, November 6, 2025 : When 32-year-old Akhilesh Sharma, a security guard from Haridwar, clicked on a Facebook link advertising a “supervisor” job earlier this year, he believed he was taking a step toward better opportunities.
Instead, he walked into a carefully crafted trap — one that would leave him facing a ₹14 crore Goods and Services Tax (GST) liability for a business he never owned. Sharma, a resident of Sisyotar Diyara village in Ballia district, was promised a monthly salary of ₹25,000 by a woman who introduced herself as Komal Sharma. She requested copies of his Aadhaar, PAN card, and a passport-size photo to complete what she called “the joining process.”
“She even sent me an OTP and asked me to read it out for verification,” Akhilesh recalls. “I didn’t imagine something so ordinary could destroy my peace of mind.”
The Discovery: A Company He Never Registered
Months later, a call from the GST department shattered his calm. Officials informed him that a company named ‘Sharma Enterprises’, allegedly registered under his name in Rajasthan, had processed ₹28 crore in transactions. The department held him responsible for ₹14 crore in unpaid taxes, and soon, a legal notice was pasted at his home in Ballia.
“I couldn’t believe it,” says Sharma. “I have never owned any company. I work as a guard. How could I owe ₹14 crore in tax?”
Alarmed, he returned home from Haridwar to clarify his position and requested authorities to initiate a cybercrime investigation.
Authorities Probe Cybercrime Angle
According to sources in the GST division, the fraudulent registration appears to be part of a wider digital network using stolen identities to create shell firms.
Officials from the cybercrime cell and GST department are now collaborating to trace the perpetrators behind the transactions and identify possible accomplices.
A senior GST official said on condition of anonymity:
“These cases are rising sharply. Scammers exploit people’s personal data — often obtained through fake job offers — to establish fictitious companies and conduct large-scale tax evasion or money laundering.”
A Widening Threat in India’s Digital Job Market
India’s growing digital economy has created new employment avenues — and new vulnerabilities. Online job scams have surged in recent years, targeting blue-collar workers and small-town job seekers who often lack cyber awareness.
Cyber experts say that such scams frequently combine identity theft with financial fraud, leaving victims legally entangled even when they are not directly responsible.
“It’s no longer just about losing money,” says a Delhi-based cyber law analyst. “Now, people are losing their digital identity — and that can have far greater consequences.”
The Way Forward
Authorities have urged the public to verify job offers through official websites and to avoid sharing Aadhaar, PAN, or OTPs over phone or social media. Meanwhile, Akhilesh Sharma is still fighting to clear his name.
“I only wanted a better job,” he says quietly. “Now I spend every day proving that I am not a criminal.”
