Woman loses ₹1.35 lakh to swindlers promising work-from-home job

The incident came to light after Chawla approached police on March 13, following an investigation, a first information report (FIR) was registered against three accused

A resident of Model Town fell prey to swindlers who lured her with a promise of a well-paying job, losing ₹1.35 lakh in the process

The victim has been identified as Harpreet Chawla. (iStock)

The victim has been identified as Harpreet Chawla.

The incident came to light after Chawla approached police on March 13. Following an investigation, a first information report (FIR) was registered against three accused, Jaisukhbhai Phulabhai Pansuriya from Surat, Gujarat, Badmama from Saidpur, Karnataka, and Kesar from Rajasthan.

The complainant told police that the accused had contacted her through WhatsApp, claiming to be in search of part-time workers. They lured her with the promise of earning up to ₹5,000 daily by simply liking and subscribing to various YouTube channels. Eager to explore the seemingly lucrative opportunity, Chwala accepted the offer and was added to a Telegram channel.

The fraudsters instructed Chawla to like and subscribe to specific YouTube channels, after which she was expected to send screenshots to the manager on the Telegram channel.

Initially, Chawla earned some money through the process. However, the accused then demanded that she transfer a certain amount of money to guarantee the receipt of her earnings. They also assured her that the transferred amount would be refunded.

After she made the transfer, the fraudsters abruptly ceased communication. Realising that she had been duped, Chawla wasted no time and lodged a complaint with the police.

Inspector Harjinder Singh, who is leading the investigation, confirmed that a case has been registered under sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and section 66-D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information and Technology Act. The police have launched a manhunt to apprehend the accused.