27-year-old woman loses ₹5.69 lakh to fake work-from-home WhatsApp cyber fraud scheme

Summary

A 27-year-old woman from Chandigarh lost Rs 5.69 lakh in a cyber fraud after receiving a WhatsApp message offering a fake work-from-home opportunity. The scam began on March 25 when the victim was contacted by someone claiming to be Sneha Verma, who promised daily earnings of Rs 4,000 to Rs 8,000 for liking Instagram videos. The victim was shown fake earnings in an app and convinced to invest money in the scheme. Over time, she transferred Rs 5.69 lakh into multiple bank accounts provided by the scammers. When she tried to withdraw her earnings, the scammers demanded an additional Rs 5 lakh to "complete the task," prompting her to report the incident to the Cybercrime Police Station in Chandigarh. The case is under investigation, with preliminary findings indicating the use of fake profiles and shell accounts.