Noida:

A Greater Noida resident has allegedly fallen victim to a cyber fraud that cost him Rs 20.54 lakh after he was lured into the scam through a text message offering a work-from-home job, which involved rating hotels on Google Maps for monetary rewards.

The police said they have registered an FIR against an unidentified accused and launched investigation into the case, which took place in January this year but reported to them only on Monday.

In his complaint to the police, Sandeep Kumar, who lives in Chi-1 sector of Greater Noida, said, “I received the text on his WhatsApp number that I can do a work-from-home job in which I need to rate hotels on Google Maps and I will receive money in return as rewards.” He was then added to a Telegram group with about 100 members, where he started performing the rating tasks. As he continued, the tasks soon included investment activities, according to the FIR.

“I started rating the hotels etc. With these tasks, there were some investment tasks too where I invested Rs 50,000 first, but I couldn’t withdraw the money from the website,” Sandeep Kumar said, adding that when attempted to withdraw his money, he was asked to pay an additional Rs 5 lakh as tax.

Realising he had been defrauded,Sandeep Kumar found himself unable to access the Rs 20,54,464 he had invested, he claimed.

“They asked me to pay Rs 5 lakh more as tax to their account, where I got to know that I have been a victim of financial fraud. I am not able to withdraw my approximately Rs 20,54,464 invested money,” Sandeep Kumar stated.

In addition to the financial loss, Sandeep Kumar alleged he has been receiving “death threats” from the fraudsters via Telegram and phone calls.

“I am getting death threats from these people on Telegram as well as on calls to defreeze the accounts,” he added.

A police official said an FIR was registered at the Cyber Crime police station in Noida Sector 36 and the matter is under investigation.

“The FIR has been registered under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 506 (criminal intimidation), and provisions of the Information Technology Act,” the local police official added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

 A married couple have been arrested for allegedly duping people on the pretext of providing government jobs, police on Wednesday said.

Both the accused were allegedly changing their address and identities for last six months to evade arrest, they said.

The accused have been identified as Vikas Tyagi (35), and his wife Amita Tyagi, both residents of Ghaziabad, police said.

“On May 10, the staff of the north district police received a tip-off regarding a proclaimed offender couple involved in a case of cheating registered against them in Laxmi Nagar Police Station,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) said.

The officer further said that they were hiding themselves inside a rented flat in Govind Puram in Ghaziabad and a raid was conducted and both were apprehended.

“Both told police that they have been cheating people on the pretext of providing government jobs to the candidates who are preparing for the government jobs examinations,” said the DCP.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Thane:

A 29-year-old man from Navi Mumbai has allegedly been cheated of Rs 20.22 lakh after being lured by fraudsters with an online job offer promising lucrative returns, police said on Sunday. The Navi Mumbai cyber police have registered an FIR in this connection against four persons, they said.

The accused contacted the victim, hailing from Ghansoli in Navi Mumbai, between October 5 and 10 through a Telegram ID and WhatsApp and offered him a pre-paid online task promising lucrative returns. They also asked him to make payments in certain accounts, a cyber cell official said quoting the complaint.

The victim did the job and also made payments worth Rs 20,22,444. After completing the task, when he sought a refund of the amount paid and also returns for the work completed by him, the accused gave evasive replies, the police said.

The victim lodged a complaint, based on which the cyber police on Saturday registered a case against four persons under Indian Penal Code Sections 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) as well as provisions of the Information Technology Act, the official said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)