Ludhiana: Man loses

A 32-year-old sales executive of an automobile company fell victim to cyber scamsters, losing ₹21.88 lakh after being lured with an opportunity to earn online. The fraudsters convinced the victim to invest money for booking luxury hotel rooms with promises of lucrative returns but instead siphoned funds from his bank accounts.
The victim, Abhishek Sehgal of Aman Nagar near Jalandhar bypass, filed a complaint with the cybercrime police station on August 16, 2023. After a thorough investigation, now a case has been registered under Sections 420 (cheating), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, and Section 66D the Information Technology (IT) Act.
Sehgal stated he received a message on Telegram app on August 13, 2023, from an ID named ‘Ganikaishya,’ offering him a role in an online task to earn money. The fraudulent job involved booking rooms in luxury hotels to create artificial demand and inflated prices. Sehgal was promised a refund of the booking amount along with a commission.
Initially, Sehgal invested ₹30,000 in booking hotel rooms but did not receive any return. Meanwhile, he noticed unauthorised transactions from his bank accounts and credit cards. By the time he raised the alarm with his bank, ₹21.88 lakh had already been transferred to at least nine different accounts linked to individuals and firms across the country.
The fraudsters transferred the money to accounts shown as associated reportedly with One Star Metals, Indore, Madhya Pradesh; Skylark Properties, Pune, Maharashtra; Cokrun Flute (Proprietor Shubham Yadav), Jaipur, Rajasthan; Breakspot Enterprises, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh; AD Enterprises and Anand Kumar, Gurgaon; Zoya Plastic and Bhavsar Seema Ganesh Bhai, Ahmedabad, Gujarat; Sunita Patra, Berhampur, Odisha; and Masi Rig Services, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
Inspector Jatinder Singh, SHO of the cyber crime police station, revealed that cybercriminals likely hacked Sehgal’s mobile phone, enabling them to carry out unauthorised transfers. The police have succeeded in freezing ₹3 lakh in suspect accounts and are continuing their probe.
“I was duped into believing this was a legitimate job opportunity,” Sehgal said. “When I noticed the unauthorised transactions, I immediately reported the matter to the banks, but they failed to act swiftly. This allowed the criminals to steal a substantial amount from my accounts.”
The police have warned citizens to remain vigilant against online job offers, particularly those requiring advance payments. “Cybercriminals use sophisticated tactics to exploit unsuspecting victims. We urge people not to click on unverified links or share sensitive information online,” said Inspector Jatinder Singh.