Ramanagara: Two women lose Rs 20 lakh in work from home scam
By Vinaykumar Patil | First Published Dec 27, 2024, 9:07 AM ISTFour individuals in Ramanagara lost over Rs 35 lakh in separate fraud cases involving work-from-home scams, a fake debit card renewal, and a bogus loan offer. Victims were lured through WhatsApp and phone calls, prompting police to investigate and warn against such scams.
Ramanagara: Two women lost a total of Rs 20 lakh in separate cases of fraud after being lured by fake work-from-home offers. The victims, S. Shalini from Dodda Anamanahalli in Kanakapura taluk and Shahida Banu from Madina Chowk in Channapatna Town, were cheated out of Rs 16.55 lakh and Rs 3.46 lakh, respectively.
On December 10, fraudsters contacted Shalini on her mobile and asked if she was interested in a work-from-home opportunity. After agreeing, she was sent a WhatsApp link and added to a Telegram group. The fraudsters promised her Rs 40 for a review and additional earnings for completing various tasks, including Google reviews and data work.
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Initially, Shalini received small payments as promised, such as Rs 500 for completing six tasks and Rs 1,010 for a single data task. The fraudsters then asked her to pay Rs 1,500, which she did, and received the promised amount.
However, the situation quickly changed when she was asked to deposit Rs 7,010 for additional tasks. This time, she didn’t receive any payment in return. When she questioned the fraudsters, they claimed there had been a mistake and asked her to deposit more money. Trusting them, Shalini ended up transferring a total of Rs 16,55,556 before realizing she had been cheated.
In a similar case, Shahida Banu from Channapatna Town fell victim to fraudsters offering a work-from-home job. She was also sent a WhatsApp link and added to a Telegram group. The scammers initially paid her Rs 150 for sending three reviews and then Rs 100 for each subsequent review.
Later, they convinced her to deposit Rs 2,000, claiming it would unlock higher earnings. Gradually, Shahida was persuaded to transfer larger amounts, including Rs 30,000, promising higher payouts. Over time, she lost a total of Rs 3,46,000.
Both Shalini and Shahida have lodged complaints with the Ramanagara Cyber Economic and Narcotics (CEN) police station.
In another case in Ramanagara, a teacher named Venkataramanaswamy lost Rs 5.21 lakh while attempting to renew his Canara Bank debit card. The resident of Kaisoppina Street searched for the bank’s customer care number online and contacted a fraudster pretending to be a bank manager named Binod Agarwal.
Believing the fraudster, the teacher shared his debit card number, account details, and IFSC code. The scammer then transferred money in multiple transactions from two accounts, totalling Rs 5,21,680. Venkataramanaswamy has filed a complaint at the Ramanagara CEN police station.
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Man duped of Rs 6.09 lakh over fake loan offer
In yet another incident, H.M. Bharath, a resident of Hebbidarametlu village in Harohalli taluk, was cheated out of Rs 6.09 lakh by fraudsters posing as representatives of Bajaj Finance. The scammers promised him a loan of Rs 2 lakh and asked him to send copies of his Aadhaar card, PAN card, bank passbook, and photo.
The fraudsters then demanded various fees, including a processing fee of Rs 5,1550, insurance charges, RBI fees, and loan activation charges. Over four days, Bharath transferred Rs 6,09,681 before realizing it was a scam.
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