Maharashtra tax consultant loses Rs 11 Lakh in online job fraud

Thane: A 50-year-old tax consultant from Maharashtra's Thane district lost more than Rs 11 lakh in a 'task fraud' wherein three cyber fraudsters, including two women, duped him under the pretext of providing part-time online jobs, police said.

Based on the complaint lodged by the victim, a resident of the Rambaug area of Kalyan, a case was registered at the Mahatma Phule Chowk police station under provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act, they said.

"The accused were identified as Priya Sharma, Devi and Bharat. While Priya posed as a representative of an international advertisement company and called the victim from an overseas number, the other two contacted him through a social messaging application," an official said.

On December 11, the trio offered money for completing certain online tasks of giving positive reviews. Initially, they paid a few hundred rupees to him and later asked him to join some groups on the Telegram app. They asked him to pay Rs 11,31,200, assuring him of good returns, he said.

However, when he sought returns from them, they started giving evasive replies. He realised that he had been duped, following which he approached the police and filed the complaint, he said.