34-Year-Old Woman in Maharashtra Duped in Rs 28.77 Lakh Online Task Fraud Using an Advertisement on Social Media:

A 34-year-old woman, employed in a private company in Wakad, Maharashtra, has been duped for Rs 28.77 lakh in an online task fraud. She had seen an advertisement on social media regarding a work-from-home (WFH) offer on September 13.

Originally, she was paid a little sum for posting hotel reviews before being convinced to transfer larger sums on the promise of transferring higher returns. The woman was defrauded between September 13 and October 02. Following the fraud, the woman filed a complaint at the nearest police station in Wakad.

After investigation in the present case, the Wakad police officials noted that an advertisement about a work-from-home offer on social media had caught the woman's attention, which thereafter compelled her to approach the concerned authorities.

Thereafter, she was persuaded to go for prepaid tasks in order to earn more money, in which she was initially asked to pay Rs 800, and she received Rs 1,040 in return. This further lured her to complete more tasks. Subsequently, she transferred Rs 1,000, in return for which she received Rs 1,350. Thereafter, she transferred Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,900.

Subsequently, she was initially asked to post reviews of hotels online, for which she was given Rs 200. The officials stated that "the crooks then told the woman to invest more to earn more. Believing them, she transferred Rs 7,000. She was promised Rs 9,100 in return. But the amount was not credited to her bank account."

After this, the fraudsters asked her to transfer a larger amount, citing several reasons, and promised to return more than she transferred, including her earlier payments. To recover her earlier amounts, the woman continued transferring the asked amounts. Between September 13 and October 12, she had made a total transfer aggregating to Rs 10 lakh using a cash deposit machine and made another payment of Rs 18.77 lakh online, taking the total loss to Rs 28.77 lakh. She never got her money back.

Subsequently, she approached the police station.