A woman from Navi Mumbai was duped of Rs 15 lakh by a fraudster who offered her a part-time job of liking YouTube videos on WhatsApp. The cybercrime police have registered a case and are investigating the matter.
The scammer contacted the woman on WhatsApp using an international number and introduced himself as an HR representative of a digital marketing company. He offered her a lucrative opportunity to earn money by liking YouTube videos and subscribing to channels. He claimed that she would get Rs 50 to Rs 150 per like and that she could withdraw the money after reaching a certain threshold.
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The woman agreed to join the scheme and started liking videos as instructed by the scammer. She received some payments initially, which made her trust the scammer. She was then added to a Telegram group where other members claimed that they had earned lakhs of rupees by doing the same work.
The scammer then created a fake website and asked the woman to invest more money to upgrade her account and get higher returns. The fake website showed her that her investment had doubled and that she could withdraw it anytime. However, when she tried to withdraw the money, the scammer asked her to pay more fees and taxes to complete the transaction. The woman kept paying until she realised that she had been cheated of Rs 15 lakh.
A rising trend of online frauds
The ‘like and earn’ scam is one of the many online frauds that target gullible people who are looking for easy ways to make money. The scammers use social media platforms like WhatsApp, YouTube, Telegram, etc. to lure their victims with attractive offers and promises. They use fake websites, apps, documents, etc. to create an illusion of legitimacy and credibility. They also use psychological tricks like social proof, urgency, scarcity, etc. to manipulate their victims into paying more money.
According to the cybercrime police, such scams are rising exponentially in India and have collectively cost hundreds of victims crores of rupees. The police have warned the citizens against falling prey to such scams and have advised them to be cautious and vigilant while dealing with unknown persons online.
How to avoid such scams
The cybercrime police have suggested some tips to avoid falling prey to such scams:
- Never pay an unknown person online. Once the money is gone to the scammers, it is very difficult to recover.
- Never share your personal or financial information with anyone online. Always check the name of the company, group or number on Google by writing cheating or fraud along with it.
- Never send money just for investment sake to unknown persons. Make sure to thoroughly check their official website, bank details, contact numbers, approvals of companies from regulatory authorities, before investing.
- Never believe in offers that sound too good to be true. Always verify the source and authenticity of any offer before accepting it.
- Never click on any suspicious links or download any attachments from unknown sources. They may contain malware or spyware that can compromise your device or data.
- Always report any suspicious or fraudulent activity to the cybercrime police or other relevant authorities.
