Mumbai: A 26-year-old woman was duped of Rs 1.63 lakh on the pretext of a part-time job of following celebrities on social media. In her complaint filed at the NM Joshi Marg police station, the woman said that she works in a pharmaceutical company and had received the part-time job offer on Jan 23 from an unknown WhatsApp number.
In further talks, the fraudster said that Rs 120 will be given for the gig and additional money between Rs 1,700-Rs 3,000 can be earned upon completion of other assigned tasks. Upon agreeing, the woman was asked to pay Rs 5,000 as processing fee, and she complied. In this manner, the complainant paid a total of Rs 1.63 lakh in seven transactions, said the police.
Case registered under sec 420
When the woman wasn't assigned any task even after diligently following the given instructions, she asked to return her money. The fraudster replied that she needs to pay Rs 88,000 more if she isn't interested in the opportunity anymore. At this point, the woman finally realised that she had been duped.
Based on her complaint, a case has been registered under sections 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code as well as the Information Technology Act.
