Mumbai: Navy man loses Rs 5.97 cr to task fraud

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A retired Indian Navy officer has become the latest victim of a ‘like and earn' scam, also known as task fraud. The scammers managed to dupe him of Rs 5.97 crore by luring him with a part-time job where he was asked to review and like international holiday destinations on Google Maps and promised Rs 50 for every like and review.

According to the information submitted with the cyber cell of Mumbai Police, he received a WhatsApp call from an unknown number in January. The caller, identifying herself as Anaya Sharma from Pinstrom Technologies Ltd in Bangladesh, offered him a part-time job. The job involved liking and reviewing international holiday destinations on Google Maps, with a promise of earning Rs 50 for each like and review." After this initial contact, I was added to a Telegram group via a link, where I received 21 different tasks. Upon completing three tasks, I received Rs 150 in my bank account, the details of which I had shared with the fraudulent group. I also received Rs 300 for rating a holiday destination on Google," reads his statement to the cyber cell.

After receiving some money, he started to trust his new employers. He was then added to another Telegram group where discussions revolved around trading, and, he expressed interest by investing Rs 2,000, which yielded Rs 2,800 in a day. He kept being added to different groups and given various investment opportunities promising high returns. He was continuously persuaded to increase his investments and ended up losing Rs 5.97 crore .

"The challenge is that the main culprits are operating from abroad. The individuals we arrest are often unaware and simply provide banking accounts for fund transfers, earning a commission in return," said a police officer.