28-year-old pharma employee loses ₹9.21 lakh to Telegram work-from-home scam through fake digital wallet app

Summary

A pharma company employee from Palanpur fell victim to a Telegram-based work-from-home scam and lost over ₹9.21 lakh. The victim, Jignesh Patel (28), was contacted on Telegram with a promise of earning ₹5,000 to ₹20,000 per day by completing online tasks. Scammers convinced him to download a fake digital wallet app and made him transfer money over a period from August 6 to September 1, totaling 18 transactions. Despite assurances, Patel could only withdraw ₹1,300 before being cut off by the fraudsters. He filed a complaint at the Surat Cybercrime Police Station on October 16, and an FIR was registered against unknown persons. The police noted that the scam used fake platforms and dashboards to appear legitimate, and similar cases have increased in Gujarat.