NEW DELHI: A 38-year-old man was arrested for allegedly duping job seekers by posting fake advertisements on social media platforms about recruiting ‘playboys and masseurs’, police said on Friday.
The accused, Ashraf Khan, a resident of Shaheen Bagh in southeast Delhi, is the mastermind behind the racket, they said. Khan was previously arrested in two other cases, they said. The matter came to light after a victim who was duped of Rs 40,000 by the accused filed a complaint at the cyber police station of Shahdara district, police said.
The victim, in his complaint, alleged that he found an advertisement on Facebook recruiting job seekers as ‘playboys and masseurs’. When he contacted the number posted on the advertisement, he transferred Rs 40,000 as a registration fee to the bank provided by a woman caller. Later, he tried to contact the number but it was found to be switched off.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Rohit Meena said after examining the alleged social media account and IP address, the accused was identified and arrested. “During the investigation, it was revealed that the accused posted advertisements regarding recruitment of playboys, masseurs and others on Facebook and also mentioned a contact number on it,’ he said.
‘He also recruited three-four women callers to talk with the victims. Under the false assurance of high earnings, they lured victims and cheated maximum amounts. The accused person then used multiple fake accounts to withdraw the money,” he said. The mobile phone and SIM card used in the commission of the crime was recovered, police said, adding further investigation is underway.