The Central Division Cyber Crime Police have registered a cheating case against online fraudsters for cheating a 29-year-old software engineer with a part-time job offer and swindling ₹22.3 lakh.
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The victim Pallavi K.T. told the police that she was excited with the profit of ₹700 for the small amount of investment within seconds and decided to invest not only her entire savings, but also barrowed money from two of her friends and invested it.
The victim said that she had received a message on her telegram account offering part time job for quick and easy returns. As soon as she sought details, the accused offered an easy job with an initial deposit of money for quick returns. Ms. Pallavi following the instructions transferred the money online and completed all the formalities. Within minutes, she noticed ₹700 profit in her account.
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Excited by this, Pallavi decided to make quick money and transferred all her savings and even borrowed money from her friends with an intent to return the money soon after making profit. The cheating came to light when Pallavi noticed her account was blocked as soon ass the money was transferred online. When contacted, the accused told her that the RBI had blocked her account and asked her to transfer some more money to unfreeze the account.
Suspecting something fishy, Pallavi checked with her other friends and realised that she had fallen victim of one of the most common forms of cyber crimes - the part-time job scam.
The fraudsters offer higher rate of interest for few hours for easy tasks and even show the money on virtual account which cannot be withdrawn. They assign time-bound tasks, which victims often fail to complete. As a result, the fraudsters freeze the amount earned and demand penalty payments.
Based on the complaint, the cybercrime police on Saturday registered a case of cheating against the accused and also under IT Act, 2000. Efforts are on to track down the accused through their transaction details.