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An internship offer asking candidates to pay an enrolment fee to confirm registration has gone viral online, with many users calling it a scam targeting desperate students
An internship offer asking applicants to deposit a fee before receiving onboarding details has sparked fresh debate online (Image-X/@thepoonam0914)
A viral social media post exposing an internship offer that allegedly asked applicants to pay a fee before joining has triggered outrage online. Shared by user @thepoonam0914 on X, she claimed that she had received an internship opportunity but was first asked to make a payment to secure her position.
Sharing screenshots of the offer details, she sarcastically wrote, “Internship mil gyi guys 🙂 But phle company ko pocket money chahiye…😭”
According to the annexure shared in the post, the internship promised a monthly basic pay of Rs 22,500 along with performance incentives based on work output. The document also mentioned an internet allowance of Rs 500 per month, taking the gross monthly salary to Rs 23,500. The total in-hand salary was listed as Rs 23,000 per month.
The offer letter further stated that candidates would be assigned a client and project after onboarding and that the stipend would be provided only after the successful completion of the assigned project.
However, what drew attention online was a clause asking candidates to pay Rs 1,594 as “internship fees” to confirm enrolment. The document instructed applicants to complete the payment online through a shared internship form link.
It also claimed that after successful payment, candidates would immediately receive a confirmation email along with login credentials, onboarding details, platform access, internship session links and mentor information by the end of the day.
The offer additionally mentioned a flexible joining date, allowing interns to choose when they wished to begin.
As screenshots of the internship details spread across social media, many users claimed they had received similar offers and alleged that such opportunities were scams designed to exploit students desperate for work experience.
“There’s nothing in you profile about tech niche yet somehow landing internships is diabolical. Just a vibe coded site,” wrote one user.
“I got many mails from these type of companies its a pure scam the company who asked us for the money how can they provide us the stipend or salary . In these months Real companies are only sending mails with rejection 🤣,” commented another.
“Stay away not good vibe,” said a third user.
“Got the same offer from the same company day before yesterday omg 😭 these scammers,” another person claimed.
“Even I received that mail last month🤣🤣,” wrote another user.
One comment read, “Ohh shit I think cockroch janth party should include this also in there manifesto.”
Another user alleged that such practices had become a business model targeting students. “Bhai mujhe bhi mili hai. It’s a fucking business model. They know that the college students are desperate and that’s why they are taking advantage of this,” the comment said.
“If they want you then they won’t ask money. If they ask money, then they don’t want you,” another user remarked.
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