Bengaluru Man Loses Rs 5 Lakh In Work-From-Home Scam

A Bengaluru defense employee lost Rs 5 lakhs to scammers in a fake work-from-home job he was later influenced into buying Bitcoin.

The man had taken the job on behalf of his wife.

Source : ABP Live AI

A Bengaluru-based defense employee was defrauded of Rs 5 lakhs by scammers who offered him a work-from-home-part-time-job. He would have to pay up to take up certain tasks, and after completing he would earn money.

According to The Times Of India (TOI), the man had taken the job on behalf of his wife. Initially, to build trust was given tasks that cost Rs 150 and was also provided with returns. These amounts began to increase gradually, and he was ultimately cheated of Rs 5 lakhs.

The 37-year-old from Murugeshpalya filed a complaint to the East CEN Crime police that on March 11, he was added to a Telegram group called ‘Work from Home, Freelance-37,’ managed by an admin named Muskan Aggarwal.

Aggarwal introduced herself as an HR manager and told the victim that he had been selected for a part-time job at an e-commerce company.

The scamsters told him that they found his phone number as he uploaded a call for a part-time job early. The man had done this for his wife about seven months ago.

Believing it to be a genuine job offer, he responded to the message, inquiring about the nature of the job. The admin explained that his task was to promote products by adding them to his cart on an online platform.

For the first three tasks, they credited Rs 150 into his account as payment. However, for the next three tasks, they instructed him to make payments through a digital payment app and he paid Rs 1,000 and completed the task. He received Rs 1,650.

After he transferred the money, they sent him a link and instructed him to register. He complied and was subsequently added to a group focused on cryptocurrency investments. There, he was assigned a guide named Shahji Jadhav, who was tasked with helping him complete the assigned tasks.

He Was Dragged To A Crypto Scam 

He received an order to select Bitcoin (BTC) within 60 seconds and was asked to pay Rs 38,000. When he hesitated, they warned him that he would lose the money he had already invested if he refused. According to the TOI report, under pressure, he made the payment, but the guide then instructed him to complete two more orders, each requiring an additional Rs 38,000.

When he demanded a refund, they claimed he needed to place two more orders to retrieve his money. He complied and placed another order for Rs 89,000.

After making several such payments, his total investments reached Rs 5 lakh, at which point he decided to stop paying further.

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While speaking to TOI, he began to suspect it was a scam, but he was deceived by the messages in the group, as other members shared screenshots of the alleged returns, which created an illusion of legitimacy. When he did message in the group, calling this operation a fraud, other members responded with claims of it being genuine and that they received substantial returns.

Finally, he decided to approach the police after the fraudsters asked him to pay Rs 1.9 lakh to withdraw his investment. The police have claimed that they have registered a case and an investigation is on.

Government Has Warns Of Scammers

The government has issued a warning about a widespread cyber scam targeting individuals across India.

In order not to get trapped in a scamster’s web, avoid responding to emails, calls, or messages demanding money or personal information. Always contact the relevant government department or organisation directly to confirm the legitimacy of any claims.

Also, it is good to inform the authorities about the scam to help them track and take action against the perpetrators.