Mumbai: A 46-year-old working woman was scammed out of ₹3.29 lakh while trying to earn money through an online part-time job. In her complaint lodged at the Shivaji Park police station, Aarti Kasardekar said that she is employed at a private hospital. She further said that the fraud began with a WhatsApp message, offering work from home opportunities.
After accepting the offer, she was added to a group on the Telegram app and the cons also took her bank details. Next, they induced her to 'invest' ₹1,000, she would earn ₹1,300. The woman followed the instructions and even received the profit. To win her trust, the con gave her extra money on other two occasions.
A police officer said that the accused gradually lured Kasardekar to 'invest' big amounts to earn more profits. The cons even asked her to create a virtual account to deposit the money. She ended up paying ₹3.29 lakh in 14 transactions. The aggrieved then noticed that earlier whenever she made an 'investment', she got the money immediately. However, the profit wasn't quickly given despite paying such a hefty amount, she thought.
When Kasardekar asked the fraudsters to return her money back, they simply stopped responding to her. Ultimately, she realised the fraud. Based on her complaint, a case was filed under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code as well as Information Technology Act.
