Greater Noida woman duped of ₹9 lakh in new scam: Write fake, paid hotel reviews

The complainant, a resident of Gaur City high rise in Greater Noida west, said she the scam began when unknown numbers added her to a Telegram chat group

A 32-year-old woman was duped of over ₹9.55 lakh by cyber fraudsters under the guise of earning easy money from home, said police officers involved in the case on Saturday.

According to Bisrakh Police Station in-charge Anil Rajpoot, an FIR has been registered against unidentified suspects under Section 66D of the IT Act based on the complaint. (Representational Image)

The complainant, a resident of Gaur City high rise in Greater Noida west, filed a complaint at the Bisrakh Police Station on Friday, alleging that unidentified people duped her into paying ₹9.55 lakh.

“On March 15, I was added to a Telegram group chat by unknown numbers. They asked me to write a fictitious review for a hotel on a website in exchange for payment. They asked me to deposit ₹1,000 in their account via bank transfer and promised to reimburse me with the profit from the deposit once I completed the task. I paid the amount on March 16, and after writing the review, I received ₹1,620,” said complainant Vineeta Singh.

The complainant then made a ₹5,000 deposit and received ₹6,420 after completing the task, according to her. The fraudsters gradually gained her trust by giving her more money than she deposited after completing each task.

By June, the complainant had paid the suspects a total of ₹9.55 lakh.

“I took credit card loans and borrowed money from my brother to make the payments. I July, I realised I was being duped and decided to file a police complaint,” Singh said in her complaint.

According to Bisrakh Police Station in-charge Anil Rajpoot, an FIR has been registered against unidentified suspects under Section 66D of the IT Act based on the complaint.

“An investigation into the matter has been launched. Meanwhile, we urge the public not to fall victim to such schemes,” he said.