Yogesh K Porwar
A 38-year-old private firm employee from HBR Layout in Bengaluru has allegedly lost Rs.1.21 crore to a sophisticated online task-based investment scam that operated for over two years.
According to a complaint registered at the East CEN Crime Police Station,the victim, a resident of Brindavan Nagar, received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number in January 2024.
The message contained a link to an application that promised commissions for completing online tasks.
Initially, the victim was asked to invest small amounts ranging from Rs.1,000 to Rs.50,000.
The application allegedly displayed attractive returns, with investments of Rs.1,000,Rs.5,000 and Rs.50,000 reportedly yielding Rs.3,000, Rs.10,000 and Rs.1 lakh respectively.
Encouraged by these apparent profits,he continued using the platform and invested increasingly larger sums.
Senior officer said the victim transferred a total of Rs.1,21,99,000 between January 1,2024, and May 26, 2026, to multiple bank accounts provided through the application.
The transactions were made through his State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda accounts.
The complainant told police that the high returns displayed on the application convinced him that the platform was genuine.
However,when he was unable to recover his investments, he realised he had been cheated.
The victim has alleged that unidentified fraudsters operating the application duped him of Rs.1.21 crore and sought legal action against them.He has also requested assistance in recovering the lost funds.
A complaint has been filed on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal,and the East CEN Crime Police have registered a case and initiated an investigation into the fraud. Authorities are examining the bank accounts and digital trail linked to the scam.
Police have once again advised the public to remain cautious of online platforms that promise unusually high returns for completing simple tasks,as such schemes are increasingly being used by cybercriminals to lure victims into investing large amounts of money.
