Ahmedabad man duped of ₹30 lakh in online ‘task’ scam

A 38-year-old resident of Ahmedabad has alleged that he was duped of over ₹30 lakh by fraudsters who lured him with a part-time “task-based” online job involving hotel reviews and cryptocurrency-linked assignments, officials of the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Police said.

Rambhai Bhupatbhai Ladumor, a resident of Vasna area and an assistant general manager at a private firm in Vatva GIDC, approached the police after realising that he had been cheated through a well-orchestrated online fraud between March 13 and April 1.

According to police, the fraud began on March 11 when the complainant received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number offering a part-time job that involved posting reviews of hotels and restaurants on Google Maps in exchange for small payments. Initially hesitant, the complainant agreed to try the work and was paid nominal amounts to gain his confidence.

He was subsequently directed to join a Telegram channel operated under names such as 'Tanishka Qadiri' and 'Srinivasan', where he was introduced to a group named 'SPOTLIGHT UP VIP CHANNEL'. Through this platform, he was persuaded to undertake “advanced tasks” on a website, which required depositing money with the promise of higher returns.

Police said the accused gradually induced the complainant to transfer increasing amounts under various pretexts, including improving a “credit score”, upgrading to a 'VIP account', and completing “capital verification” processes. The victim eventually transferred ₹30.49 lakh through multiple transactions using UPI and IMPS into different bank accounts provided by the accused.

Despite repeated assurances, the complainant did not receive any returns. When he attempted to withdraw the amount, he was told that his account had been “frozen” and that further payments were required to release the funds. Realising the fraud, he contacted the national cybercrime helpline (1930) and later lodged a formal complaint.

Officials said there was a delay in reporting the offence as the complainant initially believed the payments were part of a legitimate earning process and continued transferring money in anticipation of returns.

“The accused persons appear to have acted in a pre-planned manner, creating multiple fake identities and platforms to gain the victim’s trust and extract money in phases,” a police officer said.

The case has been registered under relevant sections of cheating, criminal breach of trust, and criminal conspiracy, and further investigation has been initiated to trace the accused and the money trail.

Police said digital evidence, including WhatsApp chats, Telegram conversations, and transaction records, has been collected and is being analysed.