Woman cheated of Rs 7 lakh in online `task' fraud

Mumbai, Nov 18 (PTI) Fraudsters duped a 26-year-old woman out of Rs 7 lakh in an online task fraud, police said on Tuesday.

The woman even mortgaged the jewellery her family owned to raise the money they asked her to transfer, said an official of Ghatkopar police station.

As per the complaint, the woman came across an advertisement about a part-time Anganwadi (daycare centre) job while watching reels on social media, and clicked the link.

Unidentified fraudsters then contacted her, and engaged her in chatting on WhatsApp and later a Telegram group.

They first gave her an online `task', and after she completed it, she received a message about the receipt of payment in her account.

Later, they provided her with more tasks and showed a payment of Rs 1,040 in her account after finishing. When she asked how she would claim the amount, they asked her to deposit Rs 1,78,000 into certain bank accounts, which she did.

When the fraudsters contacted her again on Sunday and asked her to deposit more money, the woman mortgaged her family's jewellery to raise the amount.

She realised that she had been duped only when the fraudsters stopped replying to her messages.

Ghatkopar police registered an FIR against three persons under relevant sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita for cheating and other offences and further investigation is underway, the official added. PTI ZA KRK