Two women duped in online job scams

Udupi: Two women from Udupi fell victim to separate online job scams, collectively losing more than Rs 14 lakh. Bharathi,48, a resident of Hiriyadka, in a complaint, stated that she was searching for employment when she came across an Instagram advertisement offering work-from-home opportunities. After clicking the ad, she was contacted by a person named Nisha, who claimed the job involved boosting product ratings for Flipkart traders in exchange for a 20%-30% commission.

To register, Bharathi was sent a link and instructed to pay Rs 200 via UPI. The transaction, made on June 15, reflected the name Neeraj Kumar Singh. Subsequently, a tutor named Vaishali Raj shared another link through which Bharathi completed a task and received Rs 300 as a reward.

Later, she was added to a WhatsApp group named ‘VIP Investment Members Only,' where she was shown a list of investment options with attractive commissions. Trusting the offer, she initially invested Rs 20,000. After completing additional tasks, she was told she could only withdraw her earnings if she deposited another Rs 40,000.

Over time, the complainant allegedly transferred a total of Rs 5.6 lakh to various bank accounts, expecting returns that never came. Instead, she continued to receive messages demanding more payments. A case was registered at Hiriyadka police station under Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.

In another case, Sushma,31, a resident of Marne village, received a Telegram message on June 10 from a user named Vanya, offering a part-time job. After she accepted, she received further instructions from Vanya and mentor Kuldeep, also on Telegram. Her task involved sending screenshots of hotel listings, and she was assured payment after every three tasks.

Once the tasks were completed, Sushma encountered an error while trying to withdraw her earnings. She was informed that 30% of the displayed amount had to be deposited to release the funds. Believing this, she allegedly transferred a total of Rs 8.5 lakh to various accounts provided by the scammers.

Based on her complaint, a case was filed at Ajekar police station under sections 319(2) (cheating by personation) and 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Section 66(D) of the IT Act.