Mumbai: A 26-year-old woman from Delhi, who arrived in the city to earn and provide for her family, lost ₹2.22 lakh after she fell prey to a part-time job scam. The accused conned her into purportedly buying items from online retail platforms with the promise of higher returns and took the amount from her in three days.
According to the Kherwadi police, the complainant, Aafra Khan, stays at a hostel in Bandra and works as a graphic designer with a private firm in the city.
On November 22, she received a WhatsApp message offering her a part-time job which involved some simple tasks to boost sales of various products on online retail platforms. She responded to the message and was given a link to a website that looked similar to Amazon. The accused told her to add items on the website to her wish list, which would show increased demand for the products. Khan did as she was told, and was paid ₹3,800 within two days.
“After the first payment, Khan was told that she had made some mistakes in her tasks due to which her account had been frozen, and that she would have to complete certain tasks, involving payment of money from her side, to unlock her account. She did as she was told and the accused further claimed that in order to unlock her account, the company also paid a certain amount, which she would have to pay before withdrawing her own investment. Next, she was made to pay some more in the name of taxes,” said an officer with the Kherwadi police station.
By November 25, the complainant had lost a total of ₹2.22 lakh to the conmen.
“I suspected I was being cheated and told them that I would be approaching the police. They told me that I could complain to whoever I wanted to and that they had a legal team,” Khan said in her statement to the police.
Finally, on Thursday, she approached the police and based on her complaint, the Kherwadi police registered an FIR.
“We have registered an FIR for cheating and impersonation against unidentified persons under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. The phone numbers and Internet Protocol (IP) addresses used in the crime are being traced and we are in touch with the banks where the accused have their accounts,” the officer said.