Fake work-from-home task leaves Bengaluru man poorer by Rs 44.8 lakh | Bengaluru News
Bengaluru: A lucrative work-from-home opportunity turned into a Rs 44.8-lakh nightmare for a 44-year-old private firm employee after fraudsters lured him into a fake order-processing job through Telegram and trapped him in a prepaid task scam.Priyan (name changed), a Horamavu resident in northeast Bengaluru, told police the ordeal began on Nov 23, 2025, when a woman identifying herself as Yamini contacted him on Telegram. She claimed to be a senior consultant with Watches of Switzerland and asked if he could spare time to discuss a work opportunity.The offer piqued Priyan’s curiosity, prompting him to ask for more details about the job and his proposed role. Convinced by the information shared by Yamini, he agreed to take up the work. Priyan was subsequently added to a group where the fraudsters communicated with him and issued instructions about the purported job.As part of the ruse, the fraudsters gave Priyan access to an online wallet that allegedly tracked his work, payments and earnings. They then began assigning him what appeared to be genuine product orders.They instructed him to log in every day and add Rs 10,000 to the online wallet before starting work. He was then assigned orders and told to deposit additional money whenever the value of an order exceeded the balance in his wallet. Once the orders were completed, Priyan was promised he could withdraw his money along with the earnings.A senior police officer said the fraudsters would inform Priyan that he had received an order worth Rs 25,000 while his wallet had only Rs 10,000. He was then asked to deposit the remaining Rs 15,000 to top up the wallet and complete the order. “These orders are fake and merely a mechanism used by scammers to make victims transfer more money,” the officer said.Trusting the claims, Priyan began making repeated payments. As the demands grew, he eventually ran short of funds and sought help from a friend, who transferred money directly to the bank accounts and UPI IDs provided by the fraudsters.Priyan told police he lost a total of Rs 44,80,818 through various modes between Nov 23, 2025, and Aug 17, 2026. Even after receiving the money, the fraudsters continued contacting him and demanded additional payments on various pretexts. It was then he realised he had fallen victim to a cyberfraud network.How it worksA police officer said after a victim completes one task, fraudsters assign another supposedly more profitable order. The amount the victim is required to deposit keeps increasing, while he/she is led to believe that completing larger orders will unlock higher commissions.The online wallet also displays earnings or a growing balance based on the victim’s supposed investment, sometimes showing amounts as high as Rs 1 lakh. However, when victims try to withdraw money, the fraudsters demand additional payments, citing taxes, verification charges, security deposits, penalties and other pretexts.
