New Delhi: A 30-year-old man involved in a prepaid task cyber scam has been arrested. The accused has been identified as 30-year-old Golu from Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh. The scam came to light after an advocate from south Delhi lost Rs 2.8 lakh, police said.
In this scam, after people invest a certain amount, they are presented with more and more difficult-looking tasks that require payment. They are lured with “significant” returns.
The advocate had received a WhatsApp message offering an enticing work-from-home job that required minimal time commitment—just 2-3 hours a day. This initial contact led the advocate to a Telegram channel, where he was promised payments in exchange for reviewing items on Google.
“To gain his trust, the fraudsters made small payments for initial tasks. Soon after, they introduced the ‘prepaid task’ system, offering significant returns on investments,” said a senior police officer.
The scammers initially asked the advocate to invest Rs 1,000, promising a return of Rs 1,300. As trust grew, the investments escalated to Rs 10,000, and ultimately, he was convinced to invest Rs 1 lakh. “The fraudsters manipulated the situation by showing the victim fake digital wallet balances to create the illusion of substantial earnings,” the officer added.
However, when the advocate tried to withdraw his funds, he was blocked from accessing his account. “The fraudsters cited ‘server issues’, but the lawyer realised that he was scammed and he reported the incident to the south Delhi cyber cell,” the officer said.
Following a probe, police arrested Golu, a farmer, who admitted during interrogation that he was roped into the scam by one Atul, the suspected mastermind. Golu claimed that he provided his bank details to Atul for some money due to financial pressure related to his father’s medical expenses. Cops have since frozen multiple bank accounts linked to the scam and are investigating further to track down Atul.
