Fraudsters lure Bhopal man with job offer, swindle 1.5 lakh

Bhopal: A Gautam Nagar-based man was allegedly duped of around Rs1.5 lakh by cyber fraudsters who lured him with a work-from-home job offer on Instagram. The accused initially paid him small bonuses to gain his trust and later extorted money under the pretext of investment and task settlement. Acting on the complaint, Gautam Nagar police on Wednesday registered a case against unidentified cyber criminals and started investigations.According to Gautam Nagar police, the complainant, Vinod Kumar Ahirwar, a resident of Gautam Nagar Colony, lodged an e-FIR stating that on September 11, he received a message from an unknown person through a Telegram ID. Later, he was contacted via WhatsApp from a number saved as “Priyanka Mohan.” The sender claimed to represent a company and offered Vinod a work-from-home job that provided cashback benefits.Initially, Vinod was assigned a task to complete 25 “leases”, for which he received a bonus payment, thereby gaining confidence in the company. However, on September 17, the fraudsters asked him to pay Rs50,000 via UPI, promising a 25 percent return (Rs80,000 in total). The amount was never returned.Later, he was asked to transfer Rs1.36 lakh to complete the next task and secure his pending earnings. When he refused, he was offered a “settlement” for Rs47,893, which he paid through UPI, but again received nothing. Subsequently, the fraudsters demanded another Rs51,241, claiming it was required for the final refund. Trusting them once more, Vinod transferred the amount, bringing the total loss to Rs1.49 lakh.When he demanded his money back, the scammers blocked him on all platforms. Realising he was defrauded, Vinod filed a complaint with the Cyber-Crime Branch, following which the Gautam Nagar police registered a case and launched an investigation into the matter.