PUNE: 56-year-old ad filmmaker from Rambaug colony on Bavdhan-NDA road lost Rs 96.57 lakh between September 25 and November 5 last year to cybercrooks in the biggest online task fraud reported in the city so far.
The victim made 58 money transfers through netbanking, G-Pay and Paytm services to different bank accounts, police said. The Pune cyber police registered an FIR on Wednesday after verifying his complaint application, filed soon after the crime last year.
“We have written to the messenger application to share details of the communications between the crooks with the ad filmmaker. We have also written to the banks concerned to give details of the transactions,” cyber police inspector Chandrashekhar Sawant said on Thursday.
Deputy commissioner of police (cyber) Shrinivas Ghadge told TOI, “This is a sensitive case. We cannot divulge details of our verification findings as it may alert the culprits we are yet to trace and arrest. As a normal investigation practice in such crimes, we get the banks to freeze the accounts where the money has been transferred.” TOI on Thursday contacted the ad filmmaker on phone to seek his version, but he disconnected the call after listening to the query.
Sawant said, “It all started with the victim getting a part-time job offer on a text message on his cellphone. When he responded to the number mentioned in the text, he was asked to join a group on a messenger application.”
He said, “Initially, the fraudsters paid the victim a Rs 10,000 ‘welcome bonus’ and offered good returns on his rating of corporate travel management (CTM) companies to gain his confidence. Later, they told the victim to go for pre-paid tasks with a promise of refund with much better returns. The victim made multiple transfers but realised the cheating when the fraudsters did not deliver on their promise and kept asking for more money.”
Citing the FIR, Sawant said, “The crooks initially got the victim to transfer Rs21,990 in two instalments into their bank accounts towards pre-paid tasks and gave him the task to review and give rating to a travel firm. They repaid Rs24,809 to the victim. Later, they got him to transfer Rs80,000 for eight reviews and repaid Rs94,840, inclusive of the commission.”
He said, “Having gained the victim’s confidence, the fraudsters told him to transfer Rs1 lakh for a task but did not repay the amount with the commission. When the victim asked for the same, the crooks told him to pay Rs 35.25 lakh for writing 30 reviews and promised to refund all the money with enhanced commission.”
Sawant said, “Once again, on completing the task, there was no refund with the commission. The crooks told the victim to invest more and take all the dues, including the pending ones, in one go.
He said, “The victim again transferred Rs61.32 lakh and realised later that neither his invested amount nor the promised commission was coming to him. Moreover, the crooks stopped maintaining communication with him after he refused to undertake more pre-paid tasks.”
A case for offences punishable under sections 419 and 420 (both related to cheating), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, and under sections 66 (C) and 66 (D) of the Information Technology Act has been registered.
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