Thane woman loses Rs 15 lakh in work-from-home scam; police launch probe

A 37-year-old woman from Maharashtra’s Thane district has allegedly fallen victim to a fraudulent work-from-home scheme, losing a sum of Rs 15.14 lakh to a group of scammers, including a woman, PTI reports. The incident took place between February and July last year, according to police officials.

AS PER PTI, the fraudsters contacted the victim, a resident of Dombivli town, through online platforms and lured her with promises of lucrative earnings in exchange for completing simple tasks remotely. To carry out the deception, they instructed her to use the Telegram application, where they assigned various online activities as part of the so-called job opportunity.

Police officials from Manpada police station revealed that the scammers gradually gained the victim’s trust, convincing her to transfer substantial sums of money over multiple transactions. In total, she ended up paying Rs 15,14,460 to the fraudsters, expecting a return on her investment as well as the promised earnings. However, once the payments were made, the accused ceased communication and failed to deliver any remuneration or refund her money.

When the woman realised that she had been duped, she approached the authorities and lodged a formal complaint. Based on her account, the Manpada police registered an FIR against three individuals involved in the fraudulent operation. AS PER PTI, the case has been filed under relevant sections of the law, though no arrests have been made as yet.

Further investigation has revealed that at least five more individuals may have been deceived using the same modus operandi, and authorities are probing the extent of the scam.

In a similar incident of deception earlier this year, a 48-year-old hotelier from Thane has allegedly been defrauded of Rs 13 lakh by a man posing as an excise department official, who falsely promised to secure a liquor sale license for his establishment, police said.

According to PTI reports, the accused approached the victim, who runs a hotel in the Kalwa area of Thane, in January last year. Claiming to be an employee of the Maharashtra state excise department in Nashik, he assured the hotelier that he could procure the necessary permit for him in exchange for a fee. Believing the offer to be genuine, the hotelier paid the accused Rs 13 lakh over multiple transactions.

However, despite repeated assurances, the victim never received the promised liquor permit. As months passed and the accused failed to deliver on his commitment, the hotelier grew suspicious. Upon confronting the alleged fraudster and demanding a refund, he received evasive responses. Realising that he had been deceived, he approached the Kalwa police station and lodged a complaint.

(With inputs from PTI)