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A woman from Noida was allegedly caught in a trap for cybercriminals, swindled out of Rs 13 lakh after accepting a ‘work-from-home offer’ to watch, like and subscribe to YouTube videos, as per reports on Friday.
The scammers used WhatsApp and a Telegram handle to contact Kartika, a resident of Panchsheel Hynish Society in Greater Noida, offering 50 to 5,000 rupees per day for watching, liking and subscribing to YouTube videos, according to Indian Express a report.
They initially credit her account with Rs 150 for specific tasks. As her involvement deepened, she invested in Nasdaq. She said, “They asked me to invest Rs 2,000 in Nasdaq and they gave me back Rs 3,150 on the same day as dividends.”
The cybercriminals gave Kartika three mandatory tasks, and she sent them 5,000 rupees, 30,000 rupees and 90,000 rupees alternately. However, she did not get her money back, and they accused her of doing the third task wrong. Then they assigned her two new treats, and after each one they claimed it would be the last. Then the woman sent them 2,18,400 rupees and 3,81,200 rupees.
Short of funds and feeling apprehensive, Kartika continued hoping to get her money back. She bought some time and applied for a personal loan in her husband’s name. After paying Rs 2.50 lakh as final transaction, she demanded her money back.
However, the scammers then insisted that she needs to invest more to clear the Rs 15,000 payment threshold.
The couple took another personal loan when the scammers demanded Rs 3,37,600 to complete the threshold. After paying the amount, the scammers demanded Rs 5,20,000 as tax amount. It was then that the couple realized that they had been deceived and filed a complaint with the police.
They also tried to withdraw money from Nasdaq, but nothing happened, according to the woman’s complaint.
Police have registered a case of fraud and section 66d of the Information Technology (Amendments) Act 2008 against unknown persons.
Youtube likes scam
This incident is the latest in a series of scams targeting people seeking to earn lucrative income from liking and subscribing to videos on YouTube. In May, a software engineer at an IT company in Gurugram Sector 102 ended up losing 42 lakh rupees in the scam.
The victim was added to a Telegram group and persuaded to invest for guaranteed returns. Falling for their promise, he transfers Rs 42,31,600 from his and his wife’s bank accounts. In the beginning, make sure you earn Rs 69 lakh. But when he tried to withdraw the money, the scammers demanded an additional 11,000 rupees. Realizing that he has been deceived, he files a complaint against the scammers.
In another case in May, a woman from Noida Sector 61 was approached by WhatsApp scammers. They offered her a “part-time job” where she had to like, comment and share YouTube videos of various e-commerce websites. After connecting her to a Telegram group, they set tasks and initially paid her some money to gain her trust.
However, they later gave her a ‘main assignment’, resulting in a loss of Rs 4.38 lakh. A case against cyber fraud has been registered at Sector 58 Noida Police Station.
(With input from agencies)
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