A 20-year-old college student from Mira Road became the latest target of cyber crooks after she was duped of more than Rs 1.22 lakh with the lure of hefty commissions by placing orders and completing online tasks on an e-commerce platform.
In her complaint to the Mira Road police, the student who stays in the Shanti Park area stated that she received a message on her WhatsApp number with a proposal to earn a 50 per cent commission on money invested by purchasing products on a reputed e-marketplace platform. The message was followed by a link facilitating the download of a mobile application.
The complainant downloaded the application and started ordering and paying for products like mobile phones, electronic watches, earphones, speakers, home theatre systems, wallets, bags and shoes – amounting to more than Rs 1.22 lakh. However, she neither got the invested amount and commission earned, nor the products she had ordered.
When enquired, the complainant was asked to make more purchases to complete the promotional task. Realising she had been duped, the complainant registered a case with the Mira Road police station.
An offence under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act was registered against the cybercriminals on Wednesday.
Last week, a 29-year-old woman working as a content writer with a private firm in Mumbai was duped of Rs 1.36 lakh by cyber-criminals using the same modus operandi.
