Mumbai: The city cyber police have arrested a person from Delhi in connection with a task fraud case where a Mumbai-based consultant was duped of Rs 49 lakh earlier this year. Police said the accused, Mohammad Israr, operated the bank account into which the complainant was tricked into transferring her money. Israr is linked to masterminds in Delhi and the Middle East, and the cyber police are on their trail.
According to the police, the 32-year-old complainant received a text from a woman named Priti Sharma on March 9, offering an attractive part-time job. Sharma told the complainant that she would have to give online ratings for 20 hotels for which she would receive Rs 8,500. The complainant agreed.
Subsequently, Sharma introduced the complainant to a “receptionist” named Rita for getting tasks assigned. Rita gave her 15 links for rating hotels and asked her to share screenshots once the job was done. The complainant did as she was told and received Rs 150 the same day in her bank account. She was then added to a group called “Excellent Task Group” on Telegram app.
Through discussions with other members on the Telegram group, the complainant learnt of an opportunity to earn more money. The complainant was then introduced to a “teacher” named Vinod Trivedi. He made her believe that she could invest in cryptocurrency. The complainant also received a refund of Rs 4200 of her investment, which convinced her of the authenticity of Trivedi’s scheme.
When the complainant completed her tasks and asked for her dues, she was told that her account had been frozen. She was asked to pay lakhs of rupees to unfreeze the account and get her dues. Thereafter, she was asked to pay various amounts towards taxes and settlement fees. The complainant paid Rs 49.28 lakh in total. When more money was demanded, she realised that she was being tricked and approached the Cyber Police. An FIR was registered on May 25.
During the investigation, it was found that some of the money paid by the complainant was transferred into Israr’s bank account. He was apprehended by a team comprising inspector Savita Shinde and sub-inspector Deepak Tayade, supervised by senior inspector Datta Chavan and DCP Datta Nalawade. It turned out that he offered his bank account to other cybercriminals for receiving defrauded sums.
