Mumbai, Jan 27: A 38-year-old doctor from Kanjurmarg (East) has fallen victim to a sophisticated online fraud, losing ₹43.51 lakh after being lured into a fake “part-time job” scheme offering high returns for completing online tasks.
Fake job offer via social media
The complainant, Dr Jayashree Rahul More (38), a resident of Kanjurmarg (East), runs a dental clinic in Tagore Nagar, Vikhroli (East). According to the complaint, on January 12, 2026, while checking Instagram on her mobile phone, Dr More received a WhatsApp message from a woman identifying herself as Vandana Sitole, offering a part-time job that promised earnings of ₹5,000 to ₹8,650 by completing simple tasks such as giving food reviews on Telegram.
Vandana then connected her to a Telegram user, Kavita Reddy (@kavita24Rdy7), who assigned her Google review tasks. After completing one task, Dr More received ₹200 in her bank account, which built her confidence.
Telegram group and fake investment links
The following day, Kavita Reddy introduced her to a person named MD Rakesh Verma (@Md_Rakesh94), who added her to a Telegram group called “NSE-Exclusive Group.” Rakesh sent her a link and asked her to create a user ID and password to perform further tasks that promised higher returns.
After completing multiple tasks, she was given another link to track her earnings and withdraw funds. However, when she attempted to withdraw the money, she faced repeated technical obstacles.
Fraudsters pose as finance and tax officials
Rakesh Verma and another accomplice named Ravi Ambani (@Ravi_Ambani11) then connected her to fake “Finance Department” and “Tax Department” Telegram channels, claiming her account was frozen and that she needed to pay tax, verification and processing charges.
₹43.51 lakh transferred over five days
Between January 12 and January 17, 2026, on their instructions, Dr More transferred and deposited money multiple times into different bank accounts and UPI IDs, amounting to a total of ₹43,51,550.
When she failed to withdraw either her alleged earnings or the deposited amount, she realised she had been cheated.
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Cyber police investigation underway
She lodged an online complaint on January 19, 2026, through the cybercrime helpline 1930, following which an FIR was registered at the East Region Cyber Police Station against seven unknown persons. Police have begun a detailed investigation into the fraud network and are tracing the bank accounts and digital footprints of the accused.
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