CHENNAI: Fraudsters have come up with a new method of duping people by offering them simple part-time jobs such as liking videos on YouTube. Later, they entice these people into fake investment deals and empty their accounts.
The maximum amount that has been lost in one such case in the city is Rs 60 lakh. The method, as explained by a senior cyber crime officer, is that the first contact established with the intended victim is through messaging applications such as Telegram or Whatsapp. The scammers send a text message saying that they are offering a part-time job where the person is expected to press the like button on a YouTube video. The amount offered is `50-250 per video. Lured by this easy task, the victims accept the job.
“Initially they are given the amount that was agreed upon. Later, the scammers contact the victims and tell them about a fake investment plan with higher returns. They are directed to a fake investment website which shows the plan in detail. The victims are hooked and they invest a small amount,” the police officer said.
As the small investment brings in a minor return, the scammers prod the people and ask them to invest more. But this time they ask for a bigger investment and in a bid to get higher returns, the victims invest more. However, this time the returns get only displayed on the website and are not easily transferable. The website asks for various payments such as processing fees and withdrawal fees failing which the account will be closed, the police officer said. In fear of losing their money, the victims will pay all these fees.
“Despite paying everything, the website will not allow them to withdraw their money. After a few days, the website crashes and goes down taking with it all of their money. Only now, the victims realise that they have been duped. Then they lodge a police complaint,” the officer said.
In Chennai alone, there have been at least eight cases filed in March. One such complainant lost close to `60 lakh to such a scam last month. The cybercrime police said that investigations are on and they are yet to make arrests in these cases.
The police officer said, “The public should stay vigilant when they are approached by an unknown person with jobs such as liking YouTube videos and other odd tasks for money.”
(In case of any cybercrime, the victim can contact the number 1930 to lodge complaints or they can go to the website www.cybercrime.gov.in)