Bengaluru: 47-year-old man duped of over Rs 67 lakh in online part-time job fraud
Bengaluru: A 47-year-old private firm employee from western Bengaluru has lost a staggering Rs 67.63 lakh after falling victim to an online part-time job scam. The fraudsters, impersonating executives from Amazon India, lured the man into a fake task-based earning scheme over several months.
The victim, identified as Sathish K (name changed), was first contacted on January 11, 2025, via the messaging app Telegram, as reported by Deccan Herald on Wednesday.
After clicking on a link, he was added to a group titled “Amazon India Part-Time benefit job,” where administrators offered opportunities to earn money by completing simple tasks, such as reviewing products and videos.
However, these so-called “paid tasks” required an upfront payment to unlock, promising high commissions in return.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), Sathish initially transferred Rs 1,000 and received Rs 1,650 in return — a 65% gain that built his trust in the scheme. Encouraged by early “profits,” he continued investing increasingly larger amounts over time, believing he would receive even higher returns.
Between January and August 2025, Sathish transferred Rs 67,63,950 to three bank accounts — two with the State Bank of India (SBI) and one with HDFC Bank — all allegedly linked to the scamsters, the report added.
His troubles began when he attempted to withdraw his supposed earnings.
“Whenever I tried to withdraw the money, I was asked to pay more,” he said, as per the FIR.
Realising he had been conned, he approached the West Division Cybercrime Police, who registered an FIR last week.
Police have begun tracing the bank accounts involved and are investigating the matter.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
