How scammers trapped the woman
The woman received a link on her phone that was offering an earning opportunity by liking some YouTube channels.She replied to the link and was initially able to make some earnings.
In a statement to the police officials, the woman said: “When I clicked the link, I was added to a group on Instagram. Someone called me and directed me to like some YouTube channels and earn quick money. As I earned some money, I was given more tasks. This way, I earned around Rs 10,000.”
Later on, the scammers informed the woman that if she invested, she would get back two times the amount in a short period.
She said: “In a Telegram group into which I was included, there were many persons, including women, and some claimed they had received ‘double money’ for the investments they made. Trusting them, I started investing in different bank accounts mentioned by the miscreants. My investments ranged between Rs 10,000 and Rs 30 lakh. Each time I invested, I was getting a message, confirming my investment and the interest rates against them. It all showed I was due to double the money.”
Falling prey to this scam, the woman invested Rs 2.7 crore. After a few days, the woman got suspicious of seeing repeated messages from scammers claiming to have received double payment. She sensed something was wrong and shared the incident with a family friend, who informed her that she had been targeted by cyber attackers.
How the woman recovered a portion of her funds
After the woman filed a complaint, police officials traced and froze the scammers’ bank accounts and were able to recover Rs 1.7 crore. Apart from this, the woman is also set to get an extra Rs 30 lakh soon.
Police officials said that the quick filing of complaints helped them in freezing the accounts. The police also revealed that it was one of the highest amounts they had been recovered and returned to a cybercrime victim.