Delhi woman reveals how she was duped of Rs 19.23 lakh in WFH scam

A woman in Delhi has become the latest victim of a part-time work-from-home scam. According to the police, the woman, residing in Delhi's Dwarka locality, lost Rs 19.23 lakh in the scam. The woman later revealed her ordeal in an FIR.
As per the woman's account, she was approached by cyber crooks via a social networking site on September 18 last year. The fraudsters asked her to join a Telegram group for part-time work. Initially, she paid Rs 5,000 to the fraudsters and received Rs 5,600 after completing tasks on the first day.

Subsequently, she invested more money but was informed that she needed to finish all tasks before withdrawing any funds. Feeling pressured, she continued to complete the tasks, even borrowing Rs 7 lakh as a loan and arranging Rs 6 lakh from friends. Once the tasks were completed, she was asked to pay Rs 14 lakh to access her earnings.

"When I asked for a withdrawal, they started telling me that I have to complete all the tasks first, or the total amount will be lost. Due to fear, I kept on completing the tasks. I borrowed Rs 7 lakh as a loan and arranged Rs 6 lakh from friends," the complainant told the police.

By then, the woman realized that she had fallen victim to the online scam. She then approached the police, and subsequently, a case was registered against unidentified individuals under sections 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

This is not an isolated incident. Such scams disguised as part-time jobs have been rising in the last couple of years.

Last year, a 58-year-old lost Rs 31 lakh in a similar scam.

The modus operandi remains the same. Usually, the crooks invite unsuspecting victims promising fat cheques. They are typically instructed to perform mundane tasks like liking YouTube videos and sharing screenshots of their activities on Telegram or WhatsApp accounts. They gradually increase the tasks and lure the victim to pay them in order to release their earned money from the part-time job.