BENGALURU: A 36-year-old software engineer from KG Halli lost ₹91 lakh after being lured into a fraudulent work-from-home scheme run by cybercriminals through Telegram. The scam unfolded over five weeks, with fraudsters using fake websites, fabricated profits, and continuous demands for additional payments to trap the victim.
Scam pitched on Telegram
According to the complaint filed with the East CEN Crime police on August 26, the fraud took place between July 16 and August 22. The victim, identified as Arif (name changed), said he first received a Telegram message from a woman named “Dhanya”, who claimed to be from Chennai. She offered him part-time and full-time online work, promising daily earnings of ₹5,000 to ₹10,000.
Initially sceptical, Arif was directed to a portal called vacationhostsprimz.com, which appeared to be a legitimate hotel booking platform. The task, he was told, involved reviewing hotels and giving them star ratings. Each task had multiple sets, and commissions were shown as credited upon completion.
Fake profits and manipulation
To gain his confidence, Dhanya added Arif to a Telegram group called Vrbo 4241, which had around 100 members seemingly posting about profits and sharing screenshots of payments. Believing the scheme to be genuine, Arif was given a username and password on the platform.
On July 18, he was offered an “anniversary bonus”—if he deposited ₹1 lakh, he would receive ₹2 lakh in return. Encouraged, Arif deposited ₹1.5 lakh, after which the portal displayed a profit of ₹2 lakh. Convinced of the scheme’s legitimacy, he began making larger transfers.
Losses mount to ₹91 lakh
Whenever he attempted to withdraw funds, the fraudsters demanded additional payments citing GST charges, fines for “mistakes” in tasks, or account reactivation fees. Between July 18 and August 22, Arif transferred ₹91 lakh in total, using not only his own account but also those of his wife and mother, into multiple accounts provided by the scammers.
As the demands grew, he grew suspicious and checked with friends and relatives, eventually realising he had been duped. He stopped further payments and reported the matter to the cybercrime helpline 1930 before filing a police complaint.
Police investigation
The East CEN Crime police registered a case under the Information Technology Act and Section 318 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (cheating).
A senior police officer said, “We are making efforts to track the accounts used by the fraudsters and freeze the money. Such scams exploit people’s trust and the lure of easy income. Citizens are advised to remain cautious while dealing with online offers.”
Officials also warned that work-from-home scams are on the rise, with fraudsters increasingly using Telegram and other encrypted platforms to manipulate victims with fabricated commissions and peer pressure through fake groups.