Cyber frauds worth ₹18.76 lakh lodged in city

PUNE Two cyber frauds-one related to task fraud and the other related to an online share trading scam were lodged in the city on February 27 wherein fraudsters siphoned off funds worth ₹18.76 lakh from the bank accounts of the victims.

In the first case, a 46-year-old resident of Dhayari has lodged a complaint with Nanded city police stating that he was approached by unidentified persons on his mobile who posed as share market investors, coaxing him to invest money in the share market promising exorbitant returns. The victim paid ₹5.07 lakh on various occasions and when sought a refund got cold response from the accused. The complainant realised that he had been duped and lodged a complaint with the cyber police on February 27. In the second case, an army man lodged a complaint with Hadapsar stating that unidentified fraudsters cheated him of ₹13.69 lakh on various occasions in a task fraud scam. The accused offered him tasks and promised higher sums of money each time he agreed and completed the task and cheated him.

Vivek Masal, DCP (EOW and cyber crime), appealed to citizens to stay alert of online fraudsters.

“Several citizens are frequently falling prey to frauds like task fraud and online trading scams. The citizens must engage only with verified and authorised businesses for investments and not get carried away by the bait of fraudsters,” he said.