Navi Mumbai: A 45-year-old logistic consultant from New Panvel lost Rs 10.52 lakh to cyber fraudsters in ‘YouTube Likes’ fraud. The victim was promised Rs 50 per like of videos on YouTube sent to her.
Initially, they paid a small amount as an income. Later they asked to first make a payment to complete a task and get the income and investment both together. Gradually, the investment amount increased and after taking money, they stopped responding.
Fraudster approached victim on WhatsApp message
According to the complainant, the cyber fraudster approached her through a WhatsApp message regarding an opening for a job at Omnicon Media with a per day income from Rs 2500 to Rs 3000. The complainant showed interest and sent a message.
The cyber fraudsters sent him three YouTube video links and for each like, they promised to pay Rs 50. They also created an ID and added it to the Telegram group.
The complainant liked three videos and Rs 150 was deposited in her bank account in the first week of April 2023. Later, he was introduced to a Pre-Paid task where the complainant was asked to pay a certain amount which would be returned as cashback along with income. The complainant kept increasing the amount of the pre-paid amount. Later, they added him in a VIP group.
As per the instructions, the complainant transferred Rs 10,52,200 in multiple transactions. However, after transferring the money, they stopped responding.
The complainant reaslised that he was cheated and he approached the Khandeshwar police. The police registered against unidentified persons under section 420 of UPC and section 66 D of the IT Act and started an investigation.
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Mumbai police cautions citizens
According to Cyber Crime Cell under Crime Branch of Mumbai police, the most common form of online frauds are related to banks, online commerce platforms where fraudsters, posing as bank /platform officials, convince the victim to share OTP, KYC updates and sometimes send the links to be clicked to access bank accounts.“People should know that no bank or institution is authorised to demand for bank details or PIN numbers. Unfortunately, educated people are falling prey to online frauds and losing lakhs of rupees,” explained DCP Cyber Crime, Balsingh Rajput.
