Mangaluru woman defrauded of Rs 20 lakh in work from home job scam
Mangaluru: A woman from Mangaluru has reportedly lost over Rs 20 lakh in a work from home scam after being lured through a social media advertisement.
The incident began on May 6, when the victim came across an Instagram ad offering part-time, remote job opportunities, according to a complaint filed with the Bajpe Police, as reported by Deccan Herald.
Upon clicking the ad, she was contacted via the Telegram messaging app by an individual who assigned simple online tasks such as liking and reviewing restaurants and hotels, submitting screenshots as proof of completion.
Initially, she was told she could earn commissions for completing the tasks. To create a sense of legitimacy, the scammers credited her account with Rs 120 and assigned her a “salary code.” She was also asked to share her bank details with a Telegram user named “Meena Reddy.”
Subsequently, she was added to multiple Telegram groups, each assigning additional tasks and gradually drawing her deeper into the fraud. She was directed to register on a trading platform via a link provided by “Meena Reddy” and was told to coordinate with individual named Rajesh Verma for commission payments and task execution.
Over time, she was introduced to multiple individuals—Rohit Sharma, Lucky Singh, and Ravi Patel—each through separate Telegram links, added the report.
The scammers built credibility and trust using small payouts and staged communication. Over a series of transactions, they allegedly defrauded her of a total amount of Rs 20.62 lakh.
The accused have since stopped responding, and the money has not been returned. A case has been registered at Bajpe police station, and further investigation is underway.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
