Woman loses Rs 5 lakh in online job scam

Bengaluru: Cyberfraudsters posed as an e-commerce platform, tricked a woman into a part-time job, then pressured her into fake investments, conning her of Rs 5 lakh.

Sharada S (name changed) from MG Nagar in western Bengaluru told the police that on May 12, she received a message from an unknown number, offering her a job at Flipkart India Private Ltd. The sender introduced herself as Varsha Reddy and claimed the job was related to e-commerce support.

Intrigued by the offer, Sharada, 28, agreed and was paid Rs 250 per task as commission for reviewing restaurants online. A few days later, Varsha texted her again, saying she should invest in Flipkart India Private Ltd to make more money.

Sharada was then added to a WhatsApp group called 'VIP 20K GROUP TASK-30-40%'. Here, group participants regularly shared screenshots of earning money after investing in Flipkart India Private Ltd, the FIR stated.

Initially, the victim sent the fraudsters Rs 20,000. She was then told to invest more to earn more. Believing them, Sharada sent Rs 5.30 lakh to two bank accounts and three UPI IDs in separate transactions.

She told the police that she trusted the conmen as she received a small commission initially.

The West CEN police registered a case under relevant sections of the IT Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The police have launched a probe and are seeking details of the bank accounts used by the suspects to trace the money trail.