SCAM ALERT! ‘Instagram Likes Scam’ Costs Man Rs. 37 Lakh

Another young man lost thousands of rupees to a ‘work from home’ fraud that began with a WhatsApp message and then proceeded along a fairly similar route of minor earnings from initial investments leading to larger contributions in Crypto and ultimately losing everything. Since these frauds have become so widespread in recent months, police in practically every state in the nation have issued warnings and urged people to exercise caution. Still, people keep falling for them. In the most recent instance, a 32-year-old man allegedly lost Rs 37 lakh to four people after they persuaded him to work as a part-time Instagram fan of Bollywood celebs. Here are the scam’s origins and all additional information:

Criminals might have obtained his information from a job-seeking website

As his employment contract with the employer he was working for was about to expire, the complainant published his biodata on two online job recruitment websites.

Began with a message on WhatsApp

He received a WhatsApp message from an anonymous person offering him a part-time employment, the police said. These communications have improved greatly over the previous few weeks. To trick individuals, scammers frequently use names of well-known businesses.

Offered payment for likes on Instagram

For each like on an Instagram post by a different celebrity, he was given Rs 70. He was told that by simply liking Instagram posts, he might get up to Rs. 2000–Rs. Scammers frequently offer money in exchange for YouTube likes.

A screenshot of his work has to be shared

 

He was asked to give screenshots of the work completed in order to make it appear genuine and to add some level of accountability.

Joined Telegram group to increase income

Then he was added to another group on the Telegram app, where he was given certain chores involving cryptocurrency.

Request to purchase bitcoins

Here, he was required to make a deposit in order to purchase cryptocurrency and bitcoins. He utilised the login information the accused provided to enter the website.

Made modest gains at first

He first put in about Rs. 9000 and received Rs. 9,980 in return. This persuaded him that the project is successful and that he might make more money by increasing his investment. He spent Rs 30,000 once again and made Rs 8,208 in profit.

Upgraded to VIP group and informed that he must now increase his investment

Then, he was informed that the Telegram software had promoted him to the “VIP” group. He must therefore make a larger investment as a result. After seeing the profits, he increased his investment.

Advised to increase investment to recover his funds

 

He was informed that he would need to pay extra money if he wanted his investment money returned.

Learned he had been duped, he had already paid Rs 37 lakh

 

He spent a total of Rs 37.03 lakh in investments, but received nothing in return. He didn’t notice he had been duped till later.