Bengaluru techie duped of ₹17 lakh in Telegram-based ‘work-from-home’ fraud: Report

The victim was continually pressured to make payments, transferring money to various bank accounts and digital wallets by so called ‘managers’

A 27-year-old software professional from Bengaluru was swindled out of ₹17 lakh within a day after falling prey to a fraudulent work-from-home job offer circulating on WhatsApp, reported The Times India. A case has been registered and the investigation is ongoing.

Bengaluru man loses ₹7 lakh in a 'work-from-home' scam.

How the victim was conned by fraudsters?

According to a complaint registered at the East CEN Crime Police Station, the victim received a message on April 10 around 10 am from an unknown number offering a lucrative part-time opportunity that could be done from home. The sender, who introduced herself as Shamika, claimed the job involved simple online tasks and shared a link to a Telegram group for further instructions.

Upon joining the group, the individual was guided to perform seemingly harmless activities such as clicking on links, liking content, and writing short reviews. Each task reportedly earned him ₹75, and payments were made promptly at first, building his trust.

After a few basic assignments, he was introduced to “welfare tasks” that required small monetary deposits in exchange for commissions. The scamsters initially kept up their end of the bargain — when he deposited ₹1,000, he received ₹1,400; a subsequent ₹5,000 deposit fetched him ₹7,250.

Gaining the victim’s confidence, the fraudsters then pitched a trading opportunity and directed him to a website to register. A supposed mentor named Sanya Mehta and later an instructor called Aacharya were assigned to guide him. He was then added to another Telegram group where fake testimonials and screenshots of large profits were regularly shared to convince him of the scheme’s legitimacy.

The stakes soon escalated. He was asked to deposit ₹15,000 for a recharge, then another ₹15,000 as a settlement amount. A second trading order demanded ₹50,000. Citing a “system error,” the scammers later insisted he pay ₹1.5 lakh to resolve the issue. To supposedly restore his credit score, another ₹3.5 lakh was demanded.

The victim was continually pressured to make payments, transferring money to various bank accounts and digital wallets. At one point, he was introduced to a so-called manager named Isha Sharma who demanded more funds, including ₹11.3 lakh under the pretext of account recovery charges.

Despite all these transactions, he received only ₹1,888 in return. When asked to pay yet another ₹3.6 lakh as "tax" for withdrawing his earnings, the victim finally realized he had been conned and approached the police.

Authorities are investigating the case and have warned the public to be cautious of unsolicited job offers on messaging platforms, especially those involving advance payments.