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Chandigarh woman looking for remote jobs loses ₹8.2 lakh to online fraudsters
The victim, Ramnik Kaur, a resident of Sector 19, in her complaint said she saw an advertisement related to remote jobs on Instagram
A 38-year-old woman looking to earn money by working from home lost ₹8.20 lakh of her savings to online fraudsters.
The victim, Ramnik Kaur, a resident of Sector 19, in her complaint said she saw an advertisement related to remote jobs on Instagram.
When she contacted the advertiser, she was sent a Telegram link on her mobile phone and assigned a few tasks. After she completed the tasks, the advertiser sought her bank account number to deposit the stipend.
However, as she shared her bank account number, ₹8.20 lakh were debited without her authorisation. She lodged a complaint with the Cyber Cell on June 26. Following a probe, police have booked the unidentified accused under Sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Driver searching for furniture online duped of ₹22,000
Panchkula A swindler posing as an army man duped a driver of ₹22,000.
The victim, Nitin, 40, a resident of Kalka, told the police that on July 25, 2022, he saw an advertisement on Facebook offering some furniture and electronics items for sale.
As he called the phone number provided, a man, who identified himself as Vikas Singh, shared that he was in the army and currently posted at the Chandigarh air force station.
He claimed that he had recently been transferred to Uttar Pradesh and wanted to sell his household items at the earliest. After selecting the products, Nitin agreed to pay ₹40,000.
Nitin said Vikas claimed that the furniture will be sent through cargo that will cost him ₹3,000, for which a receipt will be issued by the army. Vikas even shared his canteen card and Aadhaar card images on WhatsApp to win his confidence.
As per the deal, the complete payment was to be made after delivery. Trusting Vikas, Nitin paid ₹3,000 online, after which Vikas shared the number of the delivery person with assurance that the delivery will be done in 30 minutes.
After a while, he got a call from the delivery person, saying that he had been stopped at a checkpoint by a Colonel who was asking for receipt of ₹9,500, owed as GST. Nitin called up Vikas, who told him that GST has to be paid online, else the vehicle loaded with furniture will not be allowed to leave.
Nitin asked him to talk to him through a video call and show him the vehicle loaded with furniture. After a while, Nitin received a call from a person in an army uniform, claiming that he could not have made the call at the checkpoint, so has stepped aside.
Trusting him, Nitin paid ₹9,500 in multiple instalments. Vikas called back, saying that the money has to be paid in one instalment and the Colonel had returned the ₹9,500 to him.
Vikas told him that he will be sending the money with the delivery person. He further claimed that if the payment was not made, the vehicle will be impounded and furniture will be released only after six months. Therefore, Nitin made another payment of ₹9,500.
But after a while, the delivery personnel again called up, claiming that the Colonel was not letting the vehicle leave and asked him to pay ₹10,001 more.
Apprehensive of fraud, Nitin disconnected the call and approached the police.
Panchkula police have booked the fraudster under Sections 419 and 420 of the IPC at the cyber police station in Sector 12.
