The scams that target service customers
Most service scams in Nepal follow a few patterns. A fake social media page copies a real business's name and photos, then asks for an advance for a booking, visa service, rental or product that never arrives. A cloned phone number or messaging account pretends to be a known provider. An offer is far cheaper than the market and demands payment today to hold the price.
Other schemes target specific moments: fake overseas job and study agents, fake trekking or tour packages, bogus rental flats advertised with borrowed photographs, and fake delivery or customs fees for parcels. The common thread is pressure to pay before you can check who you are dealing with.
Check the business behind the page
Before paying, confirm the business exists outside the chat. Look for a consistent name, address and phone number across a directory profile, map listing, website and social page. A page created last month with many followers but few genuine comments is a warning sign. Search the phone number and business name together with the word scam or fraud.
For regulated services, check the official register. Manpower and foreign employment agencies, educational consultancies, travel and trekking agencies, banks and insurers are licensed by government bodies, and many publish lists of approved operators. The guide to verifying companies in Nepal before hiring explains which records to look for.
Payment habits that protect you
Pay to an account in the business's registered name, not to a personal wallet of someone you have never met. Prefer staged payments tied to delivered work over large advances. Ask for a receipt or invoice with the business name and PAN, and keep all messages and transaction IDs.
Be very cautious when someone changes the account number mid-conversation or asks you to pay a different person. Confirm through a second channel you already trust, such as the phone number printed on the business's official website or a directory profile you found independently. Never share an OTP, PIN or password with anyone.
Red flags to walk away from
Walk away if the provider refuses a video call or office visit, will not give a written quotation, insists on payment through an unusual method, or threatens that the offer will vanish in minutes. Prices far below comparable providers are rarely a bargain; they are usually bait.
Also be wary of anyone who contacts you first after you posted a need in a public group, and of sites or pages that copy a known brand but use a slightly different spelling. Scammers rely on speed and embarrassment, so give yourself time and ask a friend or family member to look before you pay.
What to do if you have been scammed
Act quickly. Contact your bank or wallet provider immediately with the transaction ID and ask whether the payment can be held or reversed. Take screenshots of the page, profile, messages and payment before the scammer deletes them. Report the fake page to the platform so others are protected.
File a complaint with the Nepal Police Cyber Bureau or your nearest police office, bringing your evidence and identity documents. For disputes with a genuine business that failed to deliver, the guide on filing a consumer complaint in Nepal explains the complaint routes available.
How directories help, and where they cannot
A directory with a published review method helps you find providers whose identity and location have some supporting evidence, and it gives you a reference point to compare against a suspicious page. On Nepali Directory, profiles publish only after identity, category and source checks described in the directory methodology.
No directory can guarantee a future transaction. Use a listing to confirm who a business is and how to reach it independently, then apply the same payment discipline every time. If you find a fake page impersonating a listed business, report it so both the owner and other customers can be warned.
