Mumbai Woman Loses Rs 54 Lakh to Freelance Work: Many people fall victim to cyber fraudsters’ tempting schemes due to the increasing prevalence of online scams.
One of the most recent victims was a pregnant woman from Airoli, Navi Mumbai, who lost Rs 54 lakh in an internet fraud.
The 37-year-old woman, who was on maternity leave, was seeking online ways to earn additional income.
She came across some people online who offered freelancing jobs requiring evaluating restaurants and businesses during her search.
She was promised a large sum of money if she completed five basic tasks.
As the scammers offered her instructions and provided links to rate the hotels, the woman was eventually persuaded to pay money in the hope of receiving huge rewards.
She made payments across multiple accounts totaling Rs 54,30,000 as she became more involved in the scheme.
Between May 7 and May 10, this year, these payments were made, reportedly to secure the promised duties.
When the woman tried to collect her promised payment after completing the tasks assigned to her, the fraudsters stopped answering her calls.
Upon discovering she had been defaulted, the victim contacted the Navi Mumbai cyber police, who filed a case against four unidentified individuals.
According to a police official, the cyber police filed a formal complaint on May 11 under sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology Act.
A scam involving work-from-home jobs is not the first instance of fraudsters luring people online.
A similar pattern has been observed in an increase in incidents where people have lost money.
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