BENGALURU: In an attempt to earn more from a part-time job while already working at an IT firm, a 30-year-old man lost Rs 95 lakh to online fraudsters.
Tushar Kumar (name changed) was lured into the scheme by conmen who assured him that he would earn double the amount he invested if a task was simple, and the money would increase four times if he signed up for a complex task.
They lured Kumar by crediting his money to a fake ‘digital wallet’ that was created as a part of a Telegram group.
Kumar constantly received messages from other people within the group who assured him that they were getting paid well by performing tasks, and believing it to be genuine, Kumar signed up for a task after which he lost his savings of Rs 95 lakh in 15 days.
After working for almost 12 hours each day at an IT company in Bellandur, Kumar dedicated his remaining time to a part-time job that involved completing basic tasks, including identifying objects and simple mathematical calculations.
With an initial earning of Rs 500 for a task that involved identifying if an object was a phone or a television, Kumar was lured into the fake scheme. He believed his money would double if he signed up for an easy task, and the amount would be quadrupled if he completed a complex task. Money was credited into his digital Telegram wallet daily, after the completion of each task.
Moreover, Kumar was asked to continue till the last task, which involved an investment of over Rs 1 crore, as it would get him a huge sum of money. Throughout the fraudulent activity, the conmen asked Kumar to transfer money into multiple accounts which was diverted into several other accounts. Kumar, who was hoping to become a millionaire by investing in a baseless scheme, ended up losing his hard-earned savings of Rs 95 lakh.
CK Baba, DCP (Southeast division) said, “The scheme where literate people are made to believe they would get wealthier by performing part-time tasks, has resulted in at least five cases being registered each day. While citizens possess the right to utilize their money as they choose, it’s imperative to scrutinize the legitimacy of investment platforms.
Every day, hardworking individuals, particularly literate ones with existing jobs, fall victim to schemes seemingly designed and programmed to enhance wealth, but ultimately they are traps that deplete their hard-earned savings.” South-East CEN police registered a case.