A woman resident of Sector 7 was cheated of Rs 30.94 lakh by apparently a fake part-time job of providing 5 star ratings to different hotels, brands etc online to get high incentives and bonus. The woman and her husband, who is a serving lieutenant colonel in the Indian Army, had even borrowed money from their relatives, friends to pay the payments when the deposit and membership fees of the job was increased. The woman came in contact with fraudsters through Telegram, who managed to win her trust after transferring a certain bonus and assisting her to deposit the money on her behalf. The cheating took place between August 23 and September 19. “In these cheating cases, fraudsters create fake digital accounts, logins of victims showing them that their bonus and incentives are getting increased. After allowing them initial withdrawals, later fraudsters increased the deposit on the pretext of increasing tasks for giving high incentives,” SP (Cyber) Ketan Bansal, said, adding that several cases of a similar modus operandi have been reported in the city. “In these cases, fraudsters withdraw the cash instantly and invest it in cryptocurrencies abroad,” Bansal added. The SP said that the victim woman assumed that her incentives were increasing. In her complaint to the police, the victim reported that she was approached over Telegram by one Anamika Mishra, who had introduced herself as a consultant with an Indian firm and offered her a part-time job with a pay of Rs 4,800 each day for merely working three to four hours daily. Sources said the victim had declined to deposit any advance payment and the caller assured her of free registration on August 23. Next day one Karthick contacted her and offered her trial work. She was asked to login to a website ‘www.syshotelreview.com’ using her phone and to fill in certain details, including her bank accounts etc. Later, she was asked to give a 5 star rating to many hotels across the world and after giving 30 such ratings, Rs 700 was credited in her bank account at around 9 pm on August 24. Further, the victim was intimated through Telegram that for further ratings, she would have to deposit Rs 10,000 to begin the task. On August 26, she was conveyed through Telegram for depositing Rs 10,000 for her login and she mistakenly deposited Rs 20,000 and received Rs 12,000 in her account opened by the suspects the night after completion of the task of giving ratings. The woman further reported the next day she further deposited Rs 10,000 and received a Rs 37,000 online bonus after completing the task. “Indeed, the woman was depositing the money but she could not withdraw the cash as there was a pre-condition that she would only be able to withdraw the cash after reaching a limit,” one of the sources said. The victim claimed that she was told to deposit 50 per cent of maturity amount before releasing her money. The woman further reported that on August 30, she logged in again and paid Rs 10,000 via SBI’s YONO app to Global Tour Pack, Rs 38,836 and Rs 50,000 to Shiva Traders as communicated through Telegram. The woman reported that she was offered Deluxe membership, in which she was promised Rs 4,09,450 after depositing Rs 2,41,162. As the woman was short of funds, she called her husband who was posted in Kolkata and he made two payments, including Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1,41,163 through his Kotak Bank credit card to Ahmed Grocery Shop (ICICI bank account of Doboka Nagaon in Assam). Sources said after this payment, the woman further asked for Super Deluxe membership and the new amount asked was Rs 8,03,592. In her complaint, the woman claimed that she was taken back with the huge amount, but the fraudsters assured her that her money was safe and promised Rs 12,93,474 after the completion of the task. She reported that even Rs 2 lakh were paid by Karthick to help us. The woman claimed that this gesture of Karthick gave her confidence and she along with her husband arranged the rest of the money after borrowing and taking loans from their friends. She reported that her husband transferred around Rs 9 lakh in three different accounts provided by suspects in three installments on September 4. The woman reported that after all these payments, her money got locked and she was unable to withdraw. The app unlocked another bonus level and asked for an amount of Rs 17,87,932 and the withdrawable amount was Rs 35,13,592. The woman reported that she mailed to the customer care and also got confirmation that this is the final level and she can withdraw the whole amount on completion. Her husband paid money via Axis Bank’s and Kotak Bank’s credit cards, sold off his mutual funds and finally arranged to deposit Rs 10 lakh through RTGS on September 18. The FIR claimed that the victim’s husband also deposited Rs 1 lakh each on September 18 and September 19 to the accounts via KMBL app. The woman reported that this time an amount of Rs 4 lakh was also provided by one William, who was described as a senior agent and said to be staying in Chennai.
Part-time job scam: Army officer’s wife cheated of Rs 30 lakh
