Doctor, friend loses ₹2.55 lakh in part-time job scam

The police said that on January 12, Dave received a WhatsApp message asking if she was interested in a part-time job. She replied by asking what the job profile was, and the person at the other end said that she had to give positive reviews to YouTube videos in exchange for payment

Mumbai: A 27-year-old doctor and her friend lost around ₹2.55 lakh in a cyber-scam that involved the lure of a part-time job as well as investment in cryptocurrency.

Doctor, friend loses ₹2.55 lakh in part-time job scam

According to the Kurar police, the complainant, Dr Hemal Dave, is a private practitioner and currently works with a hospital in Malad. The police said that on January 12, Dave received a WhatsApp message asking if she was interested in a part-time job. She replied by asking what the job profile was, and the person at the other end said that she had to give positive reviews to YouTube videos in exchange for payment.

“Dave completed a few tasks and was paid small amounts in return, which convinced her that she was dealing with a genuine party. This went on for a day, and the next evening, the accused asked her to install a bitcoin app, saying that it was part of the task. On the accused’s instructions, Dave started transferring increasing amounts of money into the app, which showed her that her investment was already getting good returns,” said an officer.

The officer added that lured by the prospect of a hefty profit, Dave had, by the end of two days, paid ₹1.55 lakh into the app. The accused encouraged her to invest even more, saying that higher investments would bring higher returns, and Dave turned to one of her friends, who also deposited ₹1 lakh into the app.

“When Dave asked about her returns, the accused told her that she had made some mistakes in the ‘tasks’ and hence there would be no payment released till she deposited a further ₹2 lakh into the app. Dave refused to send any more money till she had received what she had been promised, and the accused cut off all communication with her,” said the officer.

Realising that she may be a victim of fraud, Dave approached the police on Sunday and a complaint was filed. The police have booked the accused for cheating under the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act.