Ghanshyam Narendra Govindani, a 32-year-old chemical engineer with experience of working in Dubai, registered himself on online job sites. He received a link from a website, responding to which he joined a WhatsApp group. He was given tasks of movie reviews, which Govindani did for a few days, and received around Rs 1 lakh as remuneration upon completion. Those who gave tasks to Govindani then trapped him by luring him with more such tasks by asking him to pay a certain amount. Falling to the lure, Govindani ended up paying a total of Rs 54.50 lakh, before realising the fraud, and approached the Cyber Police. Govindani is not the sole victim of such ‘e-task fraud’ as 31 persons have been duped of a staggering Rs 3.68 crore by cyber crooks who offered them part-time job opportunities in the past six months.

 

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) EoW and Cyber, Archit Chandak, shed light on the extent of the scam while speaking with ‘The Hitavada’, and revealed that the City Police had managed to freeze Rs 3.28 crore in the bank accounts of the swindlers. The fraudsters employ a three-step process to deceive their targets. The first step, termed ‘Trust Building,’ involves enticing victims through WhatsApp links or direct invitations to join a group. The scammers offer part-time jobs that involve writing movie reviews, reviewing places, hotels, or companies on Google Maps or liking videos on YouTube or other social media platforms. The simplicity of these tasks lures many victims, as they believe it to be an easy way to earn money, said DCP Chandak. As a result, victims willingly complete the assigned tasks and begin receiving monetary rewards.

 

In the second step, known as the ‘Trap,’ the fraudsters exploit the trust they have built with their victims over a month. They promise increased profile and higher income in exchange for various fees. Falling for the trap, the victims transfer significant amounts of money to the scammers’ accounts. However, the fraud does not end there. The fraudsters subsequently demand additional funds, and the victims end up exhausting their bank accounts. This leads to the third step, labelled ‘Treachery.’ Once the fraudsters have exacted a substantial sum from the victims, they disappear without a trace, blocking all contact with their targets. The victims are left helpless, realising they have been duped and left in financial trauma. “These fraudsters are working like corporate companies. They employ specialised teams to carry out different tasks, including an IT team to monitor transactions and a banking team to facilitate their fraudulent activities. Additionally, a dedicated team works to identify potential targets by collecting phone numbers,” he said.