Cyber fraudsters are devising new ways to dupe people. A 31-year-old man from Bhayandar who works for a private firm in Mumbai was cheated of more than Rs.28 lakh by cyber crooks under the guise of attractive commissions for booking cars on a rental basis for a Malaysia-based aggregator.
Details of the scam
In his statement to the police, the complainant said that he received a message from an unidentified person on a popular social networking site tagged with a work-from-home offer of booking slots for hiring cars in exchange for attractive commissions. Falling prey to the offer, the complainant registered himself on a website by paying Rs.10,000 and started the work.
In an apparent bid to win the trust of the target, the cyber criminals credited small amounts to his account after he booked some slots in the initial stages. He was later connected to the handle of the networking platform and lured to complete targets by booking slots for premium cars that could fetch high returns. The complainant continued sending huge amounts as directed by the fraudsters.
Though he could see his commission soaring, he was neither able to withdraw his investments nor the assured promised commissions. Expecting to get the invested money back, the complainant sent more money and ended up losing more than Rs.28.24 lakh in a span of ten days where he made as many as 28 online transfers to over a dozen bank accounts and digital wallets specified by the fraudsters.
FIR registered
However, when he sought a refund of his invested amount and commission, the fraudsters demanded more money. Realizing that he was duped, the complainant registered a complaint at the Bhayandar police station. An offense under the relevant sections of the IPC and Information Technology Act-2000 has been registered against unidentified cyber crooks. Further investigations were on.
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