Fraudsters duped a 48-year-old woman of ₹26.88 lakh by convincing her to invest in a "part-time online job" involving "hotel reservations." The victim lodged a complaint regarding the case at the Vishrantwadi police station on Sunday. The police have registered a case against the unidentified accused under sections 419, 420, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act.
Senior Police Inspector Dattatraya Bhapkar of the Vishrantwadi police station stated, "The victim, who works as a manager at a private company in Kalyani Nagar, received a message on her phone in August this year, offering her a part-time job opportunity. She responded to the message and subsequently received calls from the fraudsters who promised her online hotel reservation work with the assurance of earning a handsome commission."
Initially, the victim received a commission of ₹1,105 from the fraudsters. Encouraged by this, she transferred ₹30,000 for further tasks and received ₹61,000 in return. The scammers then informed her that she had been promoted to the next grade, offering a higher commission. However, after transferring a substantial sum, she received nothing in return.
Senior Police Inspector Dattatraya Bhapkar stated, "When she did not get any returns, she lodged a complaint with the police." According to the FIR, since August 10, 2023, the woman transferred a total of ₹27,50,167 to specific bank accounts as instructed by the fraudsters. While she initially received some money back, she lost close to ₹27 lakh in total.
