Woman allegedly duped of ₹17 lakh
A housewife who fell for the lure of quick bucks was allegedly duped to the tune of ₹17 lakh by cyber fraudsters.
The Ernakulam Rural cyber police arrested four youngsters in connection with the incident. They had reportedly lured the victim, a resident of Edathala, promising her high remuneration through online tasks while sitting in the comfort of her home.
She was allegedly asked to enter a portal and register herself, which she duly did. Her initial task was to rate a variety of food items. She was paid for this ‘service’, and it further increased her trust in the whole scheme.
According to the police, she was ignorant of the fact that fraudsters often pay small sums precisely to win the trust of their victims. The initial task was soon followed by another offer. This time, it was an investment proposal that promised her huge returns.
The woman fell for it and invested ₹3 lakh, ₹5 lakh, and ₹2 lakh in phases. Initially, the investments brought her small returns. Not realising that she was being taken for a ride, she invested another ₹10 lakh in phases, the police said.
The investments were made by way of online transfers to nine different bank accounts. The fraudsters had interacted with the woman over the instant messaging service Telegram. Instructions about investments to be made were also given through it, they said.
All the while, she was shown huge returns on her investments online. Only when she tried to withdraw it did she realise that she had been conned, the police said.
Subsequently, she lodged a petition with the police, following which a probe was launched under the supervision of District Police Chief (Ernakulam Rural) Vaibhav Saxena. This led to the arrest of four persons.
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