BENGALURU: Devanahalli police have arrested a couple for allegedly cheating people out of crores of rupees by luring them with fake work-from-home job offers promoted on social media.
The accused, Kiran Kumar and his wife, Aarthi, allegedly operated through a firm named Shri Kalika Devi Enterprises.
According to the police, the couple advertised work-from-home opportunities on Instagram, offering monthly salaries for packing products such as incense sticks, camphor, paper plates, dry fruits and other household items. Applicants were promised a monthly salary of Rs 23,000 and were asked to pay a security deposit of Rs 1 lakh to receive the raw materials required for the packing work.
Believing the offer to be genuine, several victims reportedly borrowed money and deposited amounts ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 20 lakh with the accused. The duo allegedly paid salaries for the first few months before stopping the payments, refusing to refund the security deposits and absconding.
The police said one of the victims, Shankar M (40), a private survey assistant from Devanahalli, lodged a complaint on July 30 after he and his wife allegedly lost Rs 4.4 lakh in the scam.
In his complaint, Shankar stated that he had deposited Rs 2 lakh in December 2025 after visiting one of the firm’s branches. He alleged that the company initially supplied raw materials and paid the promised monthly salary but stopped making payments from June onwards. Despite repeated requests, the accused neither resumed the payments nor refunded the security deposit.
The police said the firm operated branches in Chikkajala, Bychapura, Kolar, Bangarapet, Doddaballapur and Malur, where thousands of people were allegedly induced to invest in similar work-from-home schemes.
Investigators are now probing the total amount collected, tracing the money trail and examining the involvement of other individuals associated with the firm.