Work-From-Home job scam costs a man Rs 20.35 lakh

A 39-year-old private employee from Hyderabad fell prey to a sophisticated task-based work-from-home job cyber scam. His desire to earn additional money cost him Rs 20.35 lakh. Promising easy money for liking and sharing Instagram videos, the crime happened through WhatsApp and Telegram.

The victim, as per reports, received a message from Fresher World, a company which claimed to specialise in promoting Instagram content. They offered to pay Rs 150 per like, with the potential to earn up to Rs 5,000 daily.

As soon as the victim expressed his desire, the scammers shared a Telegram link containing Instagram videos, instructing him to like and share them. The proceedings reportedly took a turn when the scammers persuaded him to invest in cryptocurrency to continue working.

Acting on the scammers' instructions, the victim transferred Rs 20.35 lakh, but he was unable to withdraw the amount. The cybercrimes branch of Hyderabad police registered a case and have started the probe.

In somewhat similar incidents in Delhi, three people, including two women, were duped of over Rs 30 lakh by scammers who offered them work-from-home jobs. The victims belong to different areas in the national capital, and two of them were govt employees.

In all three cases, the victims started by earning small amounts before being urged to invest larger sums. Once they did, they discovered they were unable to access their funds.