Panchkula woman loses ₹5 lakh to part-time job scam

Each time the victim attempted to withdraw her earnings from a fraudulent app, she was told that her tasks were not yet complete, and additional tasks were assigned, demanding further payments

A woman was duped of ₹4.9 lakh in a fake Amazon mobile application scam.

Fraudsters added the victim to a Telegram group, where she was told to complete various tasks to start earning money. (iStock)

The victim, Kiran Kaushik, a resident of Sector 11, Panchkula, and currently residing in Sector 14, Chandigarh, said on September 30 she encountered a part-time job advertisement on Instagram. Intrigued, she contacted the number provided in the ad, which eventually led her to download an app that appeared to be affiliated with e-commerce company Amazon.

Kiran, who holds a degree in fashion designing, said she provided her phone number and Indian Bank account details on the app. Subsequently, she was added to a Telegram group, where she was told to complete various tasks to start earning money. She was then asked to invest a small sum for completing the tasks. On the same day, she transferred ₹200, through Paytm, as the initial investment, which was followed by five more tasks that required further payments.

Between September 30 and October 9, she transferred a total of ₹4,94,695 through a scanner link provided by the fraudsters running the group. Each time she attempted to withdraw her earnings, she was told that her tasks were not yet complete, and additional tasks were assigned, demanding further payments.