Quick Summary
The Natraj pencil scam uses a fake work from home packing offer that promises ₹30,000 a month and an advance, then asks for an ID card fee, registration, material and delivery charges. Hindustan Pencils, which makes Nataraj and Apsara, says it offers no such job and never collects money. Victims report losses from a few hundred rupees to over ₹16,000. This guide explains how the offer works step by step, the red flags to watch, and exactly where to report.
You are scrolling, and a video says a famous pencil company wants people to pack pencils at home.
The pay is ₹30,000 a month, the material comes to your door, and there is even an advance.
That is the Natraj pencil scam in its simplest form, and it has fooled people for years.
Here is what the offer really looks like, what victims say happened next, and how to report it.
What Is Natraj Pencil Packing Work From Home Job?
Most people first meet this offer as a short video, a social media ad, or a message on WhatsApp.
It looks like a simple, safe job you can do from your own home.
The brand name makes it feel trusted, so few people stop to question it. Here is what the offer usually promises.
- A monthly salary of ₹30,000 for packing pencils at home
- An advance of ₹15,000 once you start
- Pencils and boxes delivered to your address
- A target such as packing around 10,000 pencils
The offer carries the Natraj name, sometimes with Apsara, because both are household brands.
Nothing in it comes from the company.
Natraj Pencil Packing Job Work From Home Offers You May See
The wording changes from ad to ad, so the same scam can look new each time.
Some ads name the brand. Others only say pencil packing job and ask you to call a number.
Newspaper classifieds, search results and business listings have carried them too.
Knowing these versions helps you recognise the offer wherever it shows up.
Offers like this belong to a much larger pattern of job scams in India that borrow famous names to look safe.
Is Natraj Pencil Work From Home Genuine or Fake?
If you are wondering whether this job is real, you are not alone.
It is one of the most common questions people ask about this offer.
The answer is clear, and it comes from the company itself.
Here is what Hindustan Pencils, the maker of Natraj and Apsara, has said.
It is fake. The company has said so more than once.
- Hindustan Pencils says it offers no work-from-home pencil packing job
- It says it never authorised anyone to collect money from job seekers
- It says its pencils are made and packed by machines
- It says it filed a police complaint and had hundreds of fake pages removed
Its official careers page showed no open positions when this article was written.
If any offer needs money first, the company says it is false.
If you ever doubt an offer like this one, our guide on how to tell if a work from home job is legit shows what to check before you reply.
How the Natraj Pencil Scam Works
The scam moves in small steps, and each payment looks reasonable on its own.
That is how victims end up paying again and again.
Knowing the order helps you spot the exact moment to stop.
Here is how it usually unfolds.
- The hook. An ad or video shows the offer and a phone number.
- The documents. You send your Aadhaar, a photo, and your address on WhatsApp.
- The ID card fee. A card arrives on WhatsApp after a payment, often between ₹550 and ₹750.
- The registration fee. A verification or registration charge follows, reported from ₹1,250 to ₹1,999.
- The material fee. You pay for pencils and boxes, with amounts near ₹5,199 reported.
- The delivery fees. A delivery agent asks for dispatch, GPS tracker, and GST charges.
- The unblock fee. The tracker is said to be blocked, and another payment is needed to release it.
- The silence. No pencils, no advance, no salary, and the number stops answering.
These amounts come from victim complaints, so treat them as examples and not fixed prices.
In one police complaint from the Andaman Islands in 2023, a woman paid ₹16,408 over several payments, including a ₹650 registration fee and ₹6,160 to unblock a tracker.
The same fee-first pattern runs through many work from home job scams, only the brand name changes.
Natraj Pencil Fraud Cases and Latest Updates
The scam has not stayed in one place or one format.
Over the years, it has moved across platforms and even used fake videos.
Each case below shows a different side of how it runs. Here they are in order, in simple words.
The Company’s First Public Warning (January 2022)
This is the earliest official statement on record about the pencil packing offer.
It tells you what the company says it does and does not do. Here is what it said.
In January 2022, Hindustan Pencils put out a public notice.
It said it does not offer pencil packing work from home and has not allowed anyone to collect money or deposits.
It also asked people to report such offers at [email protected].
Fake Pages and Misused Company Details (2023)
By 2023, the offer had spread well beyond a single ad.
The company says it began taking action online and with the police.
Here is what that looked like for ordinary job seekers.
In 2023, the company said scammers were using its registered office address, staff photos and brand logos to look real.
It said it filed a police complaint and had 991 Facebook pages and 11 business listing pages taken down.
Additionally, it also shared awareness videos in 10 languages.
It added that some fake ads now leave out the Natraj name completely, so a missing brand name does not make an offer safe.
In simple words, a real-looking address or photo proves nothing.
Fake Police Officer Video (September 2024)
This case shows how far the scam will go to look trustworthy. A face people respect was used without permission.
Here is what happened in plain words.
In September 2024, a video went around showing a senior police officer from Kanpur praising the pencil packing job.
The video was fake.
The voice was made by AI, and the officer did not make those claims. Police registered a case.
So a familiar face or voice in a job video is not proof of anything.
Fresh Complaints Show the Same Fees Still Running (December 2025)
The scam did not stop after the warnings. People are still posting complaints with the same pattern.
Here is what a recent complaint shows.
A complaint from December 2025 describes the same steps: an ID card fee, a registration fee, and GST charges, all asked for before any work or payment.
In easy words, the script has barely changed in years, which makes it simple to spot once you know it.
No official count of victims or losses is published for this scam.
Many victims are not careless, and this look at a cyber scam with educated people shows how convincing these setups can be.
Natraj Pencil Scam WhatsApp Number and Social Media Ads
Almost every victim starts with a number on a video or an ad. That number is the doorway to every fee that follows.
Knowing what to do with it can save you money.
The numbers keep changing, and one that works today may be dead next week.
None of them belong to the company.
The only contact details to trust are on the company’s official website, which lists a toll-free number, 1800 222 621.
Before you reply to any number, follow these checks.
- Do not reply or send any documents
- Search the number with the word scam or complaint
- Call the company’s toll-free number and ask
- Report the number once you are sure
If you are unsure about any number, here is how to check if a phone number is scam in a few minutes.
Red Flags in Natraj Pencil Packing Job Offers
Spotting even one of these early can stop the scam before the first payment.
These signs repeat across almost every version of the offer.
Keep this list handy before you reply to any job message. Here are the red flags to watch.
- Any fee for an ID card, registration, or verification
- An advance salary before any work is done
- Material that arrives with extra delivery charges
- Offers only through WhatsApp or a personal number
- Payment to a personal UPI ID
- Pressure such as limited slots or same-day joining
Scammers borrowing a trusted name is not new, and the Indeed work from home scam follows the same playbook.
Paid for a Natraj pencil packing job and not sure what to do next?
You are not foolish for trusting an offer that looked official, and a clear next step can ease the stress. Register with us so our team can connect with you and understand your concern.
How to Protect Yourself Before You Pay?
A few habits make these offers easy to ignore, even when the ad looks convincing. They take only a minute, and they cost nothing.
Use them before you share any document or send any money. Here is what to do.
- Check jobs only on the company’s official careers page
- Never pay to earn, because real employers pay you
- Keep your Aadhaar, photo, and address private until a job is verified
- Show the offer to a family member before you reply
For wider habits, here is how to protect yourself from cyber crime.
How to Report Natraj Pencil Scams?
If you have already paid or shared documents, act the same day.
Even small amounts are worth reporting, since each report helps police link the same accounts and numbers.
The steps below take you from stopping the payments to filing the complaint. Follow them in order.
- Stop paying and save the chats, the ad, the number, payment receipts, and the fake ID card.
- Call the national cyber fraud helpline, and note your reference number.
- Tell your bank the payment was fraud so it can flag the receiving account.
- File on the cybercrime portal with your evidence, and use this guide on how to file a cyber crime complaint if the portal is new to you.
- Choose the right office if you are unsure, using this guide on where to report cyber crime.
- Report the ad or page on the platform, and tell the company on its toll-free number.
Recovery is never guaranteed, but a quick report gives the best chance of stopping the money.
This article shares publicly available information for awareness.
Natraj and Apsara are brands of Hindustan Pencils, which says it has no such job. The company is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Conclusion
The Natraj pencil scam works because a trusted name makes a small fee feel safe.
The company says there is no such job, so any fee is your signal to stop.
If money has gone, call the cyber fraud helpline and file on the portal the same day.
Report. Recover. Stay Fraud Free.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The company behind Natraj and Apsara pencils says it offers no such job and never asks job seekers for money.
No number in these ads belongs to the company. Check only the toll free number on its official website before replying to any offer.
Reported amounts run from a few hundred rupees for the ID card to over ₹16,000 across several fees. No official total is published.
No. A viral video used a senior officer's face with an AI generated voice, and police registered a case. No officer promotes this job.
The company says it never collects money, so it runs no refund process. Reporting quickly through 1930 and the portal gives the best chance of the receiving account being flagged, though recovery is not guaranteed.
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