Man cheated of Rs 2.55 lakh after tech job promise in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: An unemployed man was allegedly conned out of over Rs 2.55 lakh by a fraudster, who promised him a job at tech major IBM. 

The incident came to light after Salman Rasheed (name changed) from eastern Bengaluru filed a police complaint on March 29. 

Rasheed, 34, said he contacted a man named Piyush Manthri through a Facebook group called SAP JOBS on March 14 while browsing for employment opportunities. Rasheed lost his IT job four months ago. 

Manthri promised Rasheed help in "getting placed in good companies via backdoor entry” without much formality. 

"I was in a dire situation… I still am," Rasheed told DH. "Hence, I agreed to it." 

Manthri told Rasheed he had to pay him Rs 30,000 for the offer and Rs 1 lakh after job confirmation. Rasheed wired Rs 15,000 initially, and after getting an “offer letter via email from IBM”, paid Rs 1.15 lakh. 

“The email appeared like an official one,” Rasheed said, adding that he believed Manthri. 

Next, Manthri asked Rasheed to pay Rs 25,725 for certification before joining and Rs 1 lakh as a bond amount, which was refundable. 

"When I asked him why he hadn’t revealed these things earlier, he told me it was not his but the company’s demands,” Rasheed said. “Without it, I won’t be placed, he told me.”  “I had nothing. I borrowed money to pay him,” Rasheed rued. 

Once the money was transferred, Rasheed received an email that asked him to visit IBM’s Domlur branch to collect a laptop and the ID card, and Rohan Raj would be his point of contact there. 

But at the IBM office, the receptionist told Rasheed that there was no one in the firm called Rohan Raj. Rasheed got an email again to complete the formalities by March 27. 

Meanwhile, Manthri called Rasheed on the phone to complete further certification by paying Rs 36,927 and Rs 34,925. If he failed to do so, he won’t have the job, Rasheed was told. 

"He had already sucked me dry,” Rasheed said. “I had nothing left to pay them. I have a family to take care of. I approached the police after I informed my friends about the episode, and they told me to file a complaint.” 

Manthri stopped responding to Rasheed on March 29 after he demanded his money back. 

A case has been registered under sections 66C (punishment for identity theft) and 66D (punishment for cheating by personation by using computer resources) of the Information Technology Act, and IPC Section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).