Mangaluru, June 26: In two separate but strikingly similar incidents, two individuals from Mangaluru lost a total of ₹36.89 lakh to sophisticated "work from home" scams that originated on Instagram and WhatsApp, and later extended to platforms like Telegram. The scams, disguised as easy online jobs with high returns, lured victims with small initial payouts before demanding larger investments, which ultimately vanished without a trace.
Case 1: ₹27 Lakh Lost in ‘Global Part-Time Job’ Scam
One of the victims, a woman from Mangaluru, said she was watching Instagram reels on June 11 when she came across an advertisement offering a "Work From Home" opportunity. Intrigued, she clicked on the link, which redirected her to a WhatsApp chat, promoting a scheme called "Global Part Time Job".
The offer promised ₹120 per task for simply liking content on ShareChat, with daily earnings up to ₹5,000. She completed 20 tasks on the first day and was credited ₹320 to her bank account — a tactic often used by fraudsters to gain trust.
Encouraged by the payout and the lure of larger profits, she began transferring money to the scheme in phases from June 13 to June 20 — not just from her account, but also from those of her father, sister, and husband. Altogether, she claims to have transferred ₹27.01 lakh to various bank accounts.
When she could no longer withdraw any funds and received no response from the operators, she realized she had been defrauded and filed a complaint at the CEN Crime Police Station.
Case 2: ₹9.88 Lakh Lost in Telegram Investment Fraud
In another similar case, reported at the Mangaluru Rural Police Station, a second victim lost ₹9.88 lakh after being contacted on WhatsApp by someone named Ishika Joshi on May 22. She shared a link offering money for rating movies online. After the victim gave 5-star ratings, ₹150 was credited to their account, building confidence in the legitimacy of the task.
Soon after, a man identifying himself as Naveen Aurora, a "data tutor," contacted the victim via Telegram. He claimed that by paying a ₹5,000 task fee, the victim would gain access to more profitable assignments. The victim was then persuaded to invest in “US Copper”, a so-called foreign stock opportunity, initially depositing ₹53,000.
When the victim inquired about the expected returns, Aurora claimed the investment had been misdirected to “UK Copper” by mistake, and that a "repair task" was needed to recover the funds — prompting a further transfer of ₹8 lakh. Later, Aurora demanded an additional ₹8.5 lakh to complete “Level 2” and unlock the refund.
Realizing something was amiss, the victim checked with the bank and confirmed the fraud, eventually reporting it to the police.
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