Bengaluru defence employee loses ₹5 Lakh to 'work-from-home' task scam: Report

The scam, which began with small investments and initial returns, eventually led to significant financial losses for the Bengaluru defence employee.

A Bengaluru-based defence employee lost ₹5 lakh to a fraudulent work-from-home scheme after being lured into making payments for completing online tasks, reported The Times of India. The scam, which began with small investments and initial returns, eventually led to significant financial losses.

Bengaluru man lost ₹5 lakhs in 'work from home' scam. (Representational Image/Pixabay)

How the scam unfolded?

According to the report, he victim had initially sought a part-time job for his wife and had shared contact details online. On March 11, he was added to a Telegram group called "Work from Home, Freelance-37," where an administrator named Muskan Aggarwal introduced herself as an HR manager. Claiming to represent an e-commerce company, she informed him that he had been selected for a remote job opportunity. Trusting the offer, he inquired about the nature of the work and was told that he would have to promote products by adding them to an online shopping cart.

To build credibility, the fraudsters first assigned him small tasks, each requiring a payment of ₹150, for which he promptly received returns. Encouraged by this, he proceeded with further tasks, which demanded larger payments. He transferred ₹1,000 via a digital payment app and received ₹1,650 in return. Subsequent assignments required him to send ₹3,000 per task, after which he received ₹8,327 as profit.

As the scheme progressed, he was instructed to make a ₹7,000 payment to another UPI ID and was then redirected to a cryptocurrency investment platform. A so-called guide named Shahji Jadhav was assigned to assist him in completing tasks related to Bitcoin transactions. Under pressure to continue, he was asked to invest ₹38,000 within 60 seconds. Initially hesitant, he was threatened with the loss of his earlier payments if he refused. Succumbing to the pressure, he transferred the amount, only to be instructed to invest further. His payments escalated to ₹89,000 and continued until he had transferred a total of ₹5 lakh.

As doubts crept in, he began suspecting that the platform was fraudulent. However, group members repeatedly reassured him by sharing fake earnings screenshots, convincing him that the scheme was legitimate. When he attempted to raise concerns in the group, others dismissed his suspicions.

The deception became apparent when he was told to pay ₹1.9 lakh to withdraw his investments. Realizing he had been scammed, he approached the police. Authorities have registered a case and launched an investigation into the incident.