Curiosity around the 8th Pay Commission has made central government employees and pensioners an easy target for cyber fraudsters. As discussions over fitment factor, salary hike and pension revision gain pace, scammers are now circulating fake “8th Pay Commission salary calculator” links on WhatsApp.
The government has issued a strong advisory, warning employees not to download any APK files or click suspicious links claiming to show revised pay figures.
Fake 8th Pay Commission calculator links doing the rounds
Over the last few months, interest around the 8th Pay Commission has intensified. Employees have been closely tracking updates — from panel appointments and Terms of Reference (ToR) to employee union demands and government responses.
With speculation around salary and pension hikes growing, several websites have launched online calculators claiming to estimate revised salaries. This has given fraudsters an opportunity to exploit the curiosity.
Scammers are sending WhatsApp messages asking government employees and pensioners to download APK files to check how much their salary or pension will increase once the 8th Pay Commission is implemented.
Once the APK file is downloaded and installed, the fraudsters gain access to the user’s mobile phone — and in many cases, victims have reported bank accounts being emptied.
MHA issues advisory through I4C
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), through the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), has issued a public warning about this new scam.
In a post shared by its official handle Cyber Dost on X (formerly Twitter), I4C cautioned: “Government employees are being told via messages on WhatsApp that to find out how much their salary will be once the 8th Pay Commission is implemented, they should download an APK file. As soon as the APK is installed, access to the mobile goes straight to the fraudsters.”
The government has clearly stated that no government department sends salary-related information or APK files through WhatsApp.
All official updates regarding salary, pension and Pay Commission developments are published only on the Centre’s official website: https://8cpc.gov.in
No calculator can give exact hike figures right now
Central government employees should also remember that at this stage, no online calculator can accurately predict their revised salary or pension.
There is still wide divergence over the possible fitment factor, with different reports suggesting it could range anywhere between 1.9 and 3.5. Until the Pay Commission submits its final recommendations and the government takes a decision, all salary estimates remain speculative.
Employees are strongly advised to rely only on official government notifications, parliament responses, press releases from ministries and authentic news sources.
Believing or forwarding unverified WhatsApp messages can not only mislead others but also put personal financial data at serious risk.
Current status of the 8th Pay Commission
As a background, the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the 8th Pay Commission were notified in the first week of November last year. The commission has been given 18 months from that date to submit its report.
This means the final recommendations — including salary structure, pension revision and fitment factor — are still some time away. Until then, any claim about “exact salary increase” should be treated with caution.