A woman from Pune lost Rs. 24 lakh after liking a YouTube video, which highlights the need for people to protect themselves from online scams. The article provides tips to prevent falling victim to such scams.
The article discusses how scammers are constantly evolving their tactics to deceive people and steal their money, often by offering tempting opportunities like easy money or low-effort job offers, and how a woman from Pune, Maharashtra was recently defrauded of Rs. 24 lakh through such a scam on social media that promised part-time work and extra income for liking YouTube videos.
According to a report from India, the woman who was defrauded of Rs. 24 lakh through an online scam was an ophthalmologist who received a message offering a work-from-home opportunity and applied for the job after expressing her interest.
The job required her to perform simple tasks such as clicking the “like” button on YouTube videos. Initially, she was paid Rs. 10,275 for completing the tasks, the report said.
As the scammers gained her trust, they offered her prepaid tasks and promised more money if she invested in their cryptocurrency scheme. The victim transferred Rs. 23.83 lakh to two bank accounts between March 28 and April 22.
When the women attempted to withdraw the amount she had invested, the scammers demanded an additional Rs. 30 lakh, but stopped responding to her when she refused to pay. In a similar scam, an engineer from Pune also fell victim and lost Rs. 9 lakh after being promised Rs. 50 per like on videos and convinced to invest in prepaid tasks for a 30 per cent profit, only to be left unable to contact the scammers after transferring Rs. 8.96 lakh between April 14 and 20.
The incidents involving the women and scammer in Pune serve as a warning that scammers are always adapting and finding new ways to swindle people out of their money online, highlighting the need for people to exercise caution and stay vigilant when approached with offers that appear too good to be genuine.
TO PREVENT FALLING VICTIM TO ONLINE SCAMS, HERE ARE SOME TIPS:
• Verify the authenticity of offers and the person/organization making them before making payments or investments
• Do not share personal information like bank account details with unverified sources or strangers
• Use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication for all online accounts
• Regularly monitor bank accounts and credit reports for any suspicious activity
• Report scams or doubtful activity to the relevant authorities.