IT professional loses Rs 59.65L to cybercrooks in ‘task fraud’

In yet another major task fraud case registered with the Pune city police, a 28 year old woman working with an IT company was cheated to the tune of Rs 59.64 lakhs crore in a span of 14 days where she made multiple transactions to 13 banks on the pretext of earning money on ‘prepaid tasks.’

The victim woman, who is a resident of Amanora Township in Hadapsar, lodged the FIR in this case at the Cyber Police Station on Monday.

Police have booked a phone number user, a telegram account bank account holder involved in the crime, under sections 419, 420, 34 of IPC and sections of Information Technology Act.

As per the FIR, the fraudster contacted the complainant on April 16 over phone through a social media account, offering a “part time job” assuring money for performing online tasks.

Police said when the complainant agreed, she was given online tasks over a Telegram account and was paid small amounts. After initial payments, the complainant was offered ‘prepaid tasks’, assuring higher returns.

The complainant then transferred money online into certain bank accounts. The con man also allegedly added the complainant to a Telegram group, giving an impression that she was being offered higher level tasks with more profits. Police said the fraudsters went on increasing the prepaid fees and the complainant went on paying money expecting higher returns.

Police said that between April 16 and 29, 2023, the complainant transferred a total of Rs 59,65,345 into 13 bank accounts in multiple online transactions, as per the conman’s instructions, and then realised she was not getting the assured returns in the “part time job “and had been cheated by cyber criminals. Police inspector Chandrashekhar Sawant of the Cyber police station is investigating the case.