Greater Noida Resident Duped in Massive Cyber Fraud Worth Rs 20.54 Lakh

A Greater Noida resident, Sandeep Kumar, was swindled out of Rs 20.54 lakh in a work-from-home scam. He was lured through a text message that promised rewards for rating hotels on Google Maps, which soon led to investment demands. The police have registered an FIR and are investigating.

A Greater Noida resident has allegedly fallen victim to a cyber fraud amounting to Rs 20.54 lakh after being enticed through a text message offering a work-from-home job, involving rating hotels on Google Maps for monetary rewards.

The police reported that an FIR has been registered against an unidentified accused and an investigation is underway. The incident, which occurred in January but was reported only on Monday, has left the victim, Sandeep Kumar, reeling.

In his complaint, Kumar detailed how he received a WhatsApp message offering a work-from-home job that involved rating hotels on Google Maps for monetary gains. Subsequently, he was added to a Telegram group with around 100 members where the tasks initially involved ratings but quickly escalated to include investment activities.

'I started by rating the hotels and soon had to invest Rs 50,000, which I couldn't withdraw,' Kumar said. He further added that efforts to retrieve his money were futile as he was asked to pay an additional Rs 5 lakh as tax.

Realizing that he had been duped, Kumar found himself unable to access his invested Rs 20.54 lakh. To make matters worse, he began receiving death threats from the fraudsters via Telegram and phone calls.

'They asked me to pay Rs 5 lakh more as tax, and when I couldn't withdraw my approximate Rs 20.54 lakh, I knew I was defrauded,' Kumar lamented.

In response to the threats, an FIR has been registered at the Cyber Crime police station in Noida Sector 36. 'The FIR is under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 506 (criminal intimidation), and provisions of the Information Technology Act,' a local police official stated.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)