Mumbai: A 25-year-old man, working as a senior consultant with a private bank, lost Rs 13.40 lakh in a prepaid online task fraud. Initially, the victim received small returns after completing certain tasks and was then induced to place bigger amounts to earn higher profits. As a result, the victim ended up losing money in over a dozen transactions.
According to the police, on June 30, the victim received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number, claiming to be an HR person from a private company. The person informed the victim about earning money by giving online reviews. The victim agreed, following which he was added to a Telegram app group with 170 members.
Payments received initially
Initially, the victim completed certain online tasks and received payments for them. Later, he was informed that to participate in the tasks, he would have to pay a deposit in advance. The victim agreed and began participating in prepaid tasks, receiving some initial returns.
From July 31 till August 02, the victim deposited a total of Rs 13.40 lakh into different bank accounts, as instructed by the fraudsters to participate in the tasks, but he never received any returns. When the victim inquired about his money, the fraudsters demanded that he pay an additional Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh.
The victim realized that he had been duped and approached the police to file a complaint. He provided details of the 'HR person' who messaged him, along with information about three Telegram users who induced him to participate in online tasks, and the bank accounts used for the online transfers.
The police have registered a case under sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 66C (identity theft) and 66D (cheating by personation by using a computer resource) of the Information Technology Act.
