Bhuvaneswari (32), an IT company employee from Ganapathy in Coimbatore, was looking for a part-time job online. The Coimbatore City Cyber Crime Police have opened an investigation and have filed a case against a group of scammers who lured investors with promises of investments worth up to Rs 8.97 lakh.
Coimbatore: The IT professionals are the ones who fall victim to online scammers the most.
A gang of fraudsters who send links through WhatsApp and Telegram are targeting graduate youths who think they can invest in part-time jobs and through the internet.
It is the well-educated graduate youth who are the worst affected. Bhuvaneswari (32), a native of Ganapathy in Coimbatore, who works in a private IT company, said, Bhuvaneswari was on the lookout for a part-time job on the website when she was joined by unidentified persons in the Telegram team.
They also said that if you invest Rs 2,000 in the group, you will get the right profit. Bhuvaneswari had invested Rs 2,000 on May 19. Of this, she got Rs 2,800. Believing this to be true, they found that she was trying to invest more and said that if the fraudsters invest more, they would make more profits.
Bhuvaneswari continued to invest Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 in several instalments. At one point, when she tried to withdraw the money she had invested, her account was frozen, they said. The account will be opened only if the money is paid, they said.
Believing this, Bhuvaneswari paid the money again. The investor filed a complaint with the city's cyber crime police after spending about Rs 8.97 lakh but receiving no return on her investment. Based on the complaint, the police have registered a case and are investigating.