Navi Mumbai man loses more than ₹43 lakh in online 'task fraud'

The fraudsters contacted the man, a resident of Koparkhairane area, on Whatsapp and told him that he could earn good money if he completed a part-time job involving online tasks, an official said

A 33-year-old man from Navi Mumbai has become the latest victim of the "online task" fraud and lost more than ₹43 lakh to fraudsters who lured him under the pretext of earning big returns, police said on Monday.

The fraudsters contacted the man, a resident of Koparkhairane area, on Whatsapp and told him that he could earn good money if he completed a part-time job involving online tasks, an official said.

"Hoping to earn good returns, the victim ended up paying ₹43.45 lakh in different bank accounts but never received any remuneration," he said quoting the First Information Report.

A case was registered under section 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

No arrest has been made so far.

The "online task fraud" typically involves trapping victims by making them perform tasks like liking videos etc. and making small payments initially to win their trust. The victims were later lured to invest money to earn big returns.