A 46 year old man who recently returned to India from New Zealand has been allegedly defrauded of Rs 21 lakh in Ludhiana after falling for a work from home scam promoted on social media and routed through WhatsApp and Telegram.
Instagram Ad Led Victim Into Task Scam
Deepinderpal Singh told the Ludhiana Rural cybercrime cell that the fraud began on February 11 when he clicked on an Instagram advertisement promising easy income. The link then directed him to a WhatsApp contact where a person claiming to represent a company offered commissions for completing simple online tasks, including rating products.
Police said the scheme followed a familiar task based fraud pattern in which small initial returns are used to build trust and encourage larger transfers.
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Telegram Shift and False Profits
After receiving small returns on minor deposits, Singh was moved to a Telegram channel where he was pressured into making much larger payments. While an online dashboard showed his supposed profits accumulating, he was unable to withdraw the funds.
When he questioned the delay, the fraudsters allegedly told him that a technical error had deactivated his account and demanded further payments to unlock the money. In an effort to recover his initial investment, he kept paying until his losses reached Rs 21 lakh.
Police Register Case and Issue Warning
The cybercrime cell has registered an FIR for cheating under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Investigators are now examining the digital trail and financial transaction records to identify those behind the fraud.
Police have also warned people against accepting online job offers that require upfront deposits or move communications to encrypted messaging platforms such as Telegram, describing such shifts as a common warning sign in cyber fraud cases.
About the author – Rehan Khan is a law student and legal journalist with a keen interest in cybercrime, digital fraud, and emerging technology laws. He writes on the intersection of law, cybersecurity, and online safety, focusing on developments that impact individuals and institutions in India.
