KOCHI: Searching for an online data-entry job can be challenging for aspirants looking to weed out scam postings from legitimate ones. Data-entry work, now one of the easiest work-from-home job options, is also being used to trap unsuspecting victims in cyberspace. Unlike the conventional methods of demanding money directly, the fraudsters offer work with a lucrative monthly income and then seek a security fee to credit the remuneration for the work.
According to police officers, while fraudsters earlier tricked job aspirants and duped them of big amounts, now they siphon off small amounts from more persons.
Swathy (name changed), a native of Palakkad, found a data-entry job on the internet. A postgraduate who had worked as a teacher, she was in search of a remote opening after becoming jobless. When she called the number listed in the advert, a man who identified himself as Raj Singh asked her to send her details on WhatsApp. She was also asked to pay a security deposit of Rs 15,000 on the assurance that the amount would be reimbursed along with the first month’s payment. She parted with the amount after she felt that the links sent were genuine.
In return, she was provided a mail ID, user ID and password. However, repeated attempts to log in with the provided credentials proved unsuccessful. Growing suspicious, she called her initial contact, who gave her the contact number of what he termed their support team.
Her efforts to reach the number proved fruitless. She contacted Raj Singh again and informed him that the support team was unresponsive and demanded refund of the security deposit. However, he said a refund was not possible and that any complaints should be directed to the support team.
A preliminary probe brought to light several fake websites created by fraudsters to interact with their target group and send them private messages. The fraudsters mainly operated from north India. Though a few based in Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh have already been netted, their masterminds are yet to be apprehended.
“In the majority of complaints, fraudsters work like professional agencies in their preliminary communications to win their victims’ trust,” said an officer, who is part of a team probing cyber-fraud cases.