After reports of a Pune Woman losing Rs 24 lakhs after falling victim to a scam, another similar incident comes from a Gurugram techie. A software engineer working at an IT company in Gurugram Sector 102 fell victim to a massive scam, losing over Rs 42 lakh in the process. The engineer was lured by scammers who promised him substantial earnings for simply liking YouTube videos.
The incident unfolded on March 24 when the victim received a WhatsApp message offering him a part-time job where he could earn extra income by liking videos on YouTube. Intrigued, the victim agreed to join the group but was redirected to a Telegram app group instead. Without wasting any time, the group members convinced him to invest his money, assuring him of guaranteed returns.
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Trusting the cons and their promises, the techie sent a staggering amount of Rs 42,31,600 to the scammers from his and his wife’s bank accounts.
Initially, he was informed that he had made a profit of Rs 69 lakh. However, when he tried to withdraw the money, the fraudsters demanded an additional Rs 11,000 from him. Sensing that he had fallen into a trap, the victim decided to seek help from the police and lodged a complaint against the fraudsters.
According to the complaint filed by the victim, a woman named Divya added him to a group on Telegram app as soon as he agreed to work with them. She asked him to invest money while assuring him of good returns.
“On the pretext of a task, they had asked me to invest and I transferred a total of Rs 42,31,600 from mine and my wife’s bank accounts,” reads the complaint.
The cybercrime division has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the unidentified culprits under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology (IT) Act. Authorities are now working on obtaining bank information associated with the transactions to trace the scammers. The investigation into the case is currently underway.
Part-time job scam cases are increasingly happening across the country. Last month, a Pune woman fell victim to a similar scam and lost almost Rs 24 lakh to the fraudsters. The victim was convinced to like YouTube videos and in return would get handsome returns. She was later convinced to a cryptocurrency scheme and later when she tried to withdraw the money, scammers demanded an extra Rs 30 lakh to release her payment. She refused to pay and was soon unable to reach out the scamsters.
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These incidents are a stark reminder how evolved scamsters have become with every day’s technological advancement. It also serves as a warning to people who are easily tricked into investing money in exchange of easy money through online schemes. It is very important to be vigilant and conduct proper research before investing in any such online schemes
