Navi Mumbai: Businessman loses Rs 4.3 lakh in 'like & share' part-time job scam

NAVI MUMBAI: A 42-year-old businessman was defrauded of Rs 4.30 lakh by a gang of three cyber crooks, including two women. The accused offered the victim, residing in Ulwe, a part-time job on an e-commerce portal in which he was asked to open a link to create his user ID and password and then 'like and share' to receive payment. However, the accused gained remote access to his mobile data and fraudulently carried out 14 transactions by debiting Rs 4.30 lakh from his two current bank accounts and one savings account.According to the FIR filed at the NRI Coastal police station by the complainant, Sandeep Kindre, a bike spare parts seller, on August 1 at around 4.15pm, he received a WhatsApp call from a man who claimed to be calling from Flipkart and offered him a part-time job of 'liking and sharing' by clicking on a link. However, Kindre refused. Still, the caller sent him a link to the job profile at Flipkart. Nevertheless, Kindre did not open the link.The next day, around 12 noon, the caller sent Sonia Sharma's mobile number to Kindre on WhatsApp and instructed him to send a 'HI' message to her. Kindre complied, and he was added to a WhatsApp group called 'Cutiez1234,' with the group admin identified as a woman named Chaya. She posted several links on the WhatsApp group, but Kindre did not open any of them. Around 8pm, Sonai Sharma sent him a link and made him create a user ID and generate a password. When Kindre logged in, his mobile stopped operating for 15-20 minutes. As no money was debited from his three bank accounts, he did not suspect any foul play.On August 3, around 8.30pm, Sonai Sharma sent him yet another link and claimed that the previous day there was a system problem, telling him that he could complete tasks today. As he logged in, his mobile again stopped operating. The next day, Kindre received bank alert messages of 14 transactions totaling Rs 4.30 lakh debited to his three bank accounts. Kindre immediately complained to the customer care centers of the respective banks. As demanded by the banks, Kindre lodged a police complaint and an FIR was registered after one month on Saturday.