A 19-year-old commerce student from Nana Chiloda has approached the Cyber Crime Police Station after discovering that a supposed work-from-home opportunity offering paid hotel-review tasks was actually an elaborate scam that cost him more than Rs. 7 lakh.
The student, Omprakash Narendrakumar Tehelyani, stated in his FIR that the fraud unfolded over four days—from June 7 to 10, 2025. During this period, he was allegedly steered by people posing as online coordinators using the names HR Esha, Sharon and Manish Kumar. These contacts operated through WhatsApp and Telegram accounts that, according to the complaint, were part of a coordinated plan to repeatedly extract money under the guise of paid assignments.
According to details available, the case began on June 7 when Omprakash received a WhatsApp message from a woman identifying herself as HR Esha. She claimed to represent a company offering remote work and soon added him to a Telegram group after sharing a link for verification.
Inside the group, a user named Sharon began sending him hotel review “tasks”, while another account under the name Manish Kumar monitored his submissions and handled payment discussions.
To make the offer appear authentic, the scammers first gave him extremely simple tasks. After he completed them, small amounts—Rs. 150 at first, followed by Rs. 1,420—were deposited into his Kotak Bank account. These early payments, the complaint says, convinced him that the opportunity was genuine.
Once his trust was secured, the tone of the job changed. The student was told that more lucrative tasks required advance payments, referred to as “prepaid assignments”. Believing he would earn a substantial return, he began transferring money from his Kotak Bank and Axis Bank accounts to multiple bank accounts provided by the group.
Between June 7 and 10, he transferred a total of R. 7.10 lakh. Although the fraudsters allowed one small withdrawal of Rs. 1,570—likely to maintain the illusion of legitimacy—they soon insisted that he needed to pay additional charges to unlock his full “earnings”.
When he refused to deposit any more money, all three contacts stopped responding. It was only then that he realised he had fallen victim to a scam.
On June 15, Omprakash tried reporting the incident by calling the national cybercrime helpline 1930, but he claims he never received confirmation that his complaint had been registered. He later filed an online report and ultimately visited the Cyber Crime Police Station in person on November 27, where officers formally recorded the FIR.
Investigators noted that the fraud involved multiple Telegram and WhatsApp IDs, each using fabricated identities. The complainant was repeatedly instructed to send money to different bank accounts, a pattern commonly seen in task-based online frauds designed to make tracing difficult.
The FIR states that the group gained the victim’s confidence by allowing a small withdrawal before demanding larger deposits disguised as processing fees or mandatory charges.
According to cybercrime officials, the modus operandi matches organised digital task scams often run by anonymous networks. These networks typically use Telegram channels, fake customer-support accounts and staged task-reward systems to lure individuals seeking online income.
Police have registered offences of cheating, criminal conspiracy and IT Act violations. Efforts are now underway to track the bank accounts involved, identify the users behind the Telegram and WhatsApp IDs, and determine whether the operation was based in India or run from abroad.
Investigators are continuing to trace the money trail to map the full extent of the network.
Also Read: Gujarat: Rs 2.07 Cr Returned To Cyber Fraud Victims Under ‘Tera Tujhko Arpan’ Project https://www.vibesofindia.com/gujarat-rs-2-07-cr-returned-to-cyber-fraud-victims-under-tera-tujhko-arpan-project/
