In Pune, around ten individuals have reported to the Chandannagar police that they fell victim to a scam where cybercriminals swindled them out of ₹25.85 lakh through a deceitful scheme known as task fraud.
These incidents occurred between July 1 and August 25, according to the police.
In this type of fraud, people receive calls on their mobile phones offering work-from-home opportunities. They are enticed to boost likes for various content on social media, such as audio and video material, with the promise of substantial earnings in return.
One of the complainants, Vaishali Vinod Gupta, residing in Kharadi, was targeted by the scammers. They lured her with a freelancing job that could be done from home through online tasks. They explained that if she managed to accumulate likes for their content on social media platforms, including audio and video materials, she would receive significant rewards. However, these rewards were dependent on the likes and positive reviews she could generate, ensuring high engagement from online viewers.
Using online methods, the fraudsters managed to swindle a total of ₹25.85 lakhs from multiple victims. They initially provided a small sum of money to create an illusion of trustworthiness. Later, they cut off all communication by blocking the victims’ phone numbers.
When the victims realized that they had lost substantial amounts of money, they filed complaints with the police.
Rajendra Landge, a senior police inspector, stated, “The victims were deceived by online fraudsters located in foreign countries who use the guise of online work-from-home jobs to ensnare their targets. We have registered a case and are currently conducting a cyber investigation.”
