Pune: A 26-year-old senior software engineer with a prominent software company, who wanted to earn extra money through a part-time job, lost Rs30.26 lakh to cybercrooks last month.The crooks assigned her tasks involving sharing screenshots of different brands and products on an e-commerce platform. They assured her of returns after she completed the tasks. The crooks gained her confidence by sharing profits with her after she completed prepaid tasks. Between July 11 and 23, the woman transferred Rs30.26 lakh to different bank accounts through 63 transactions and lost the money to the crooks.The woman filed an online complaint. After a preliminary investigation, the Kalepadal police registered a case on Thursday. An officer from Kalepadal police said the complainant resides in Hadapsar and works with a prominent software company in the Magarpatta area. She had posted her resume on various job-related websites as she was looking for part-time work.“On July 10, she received a message from an official of a company who offered her a part-time job involving sharing screenshots of products and brands on an e-commerce platform. He also told her that the company was based in New Delhi and was in the business of marketing various products on the e-commerce website,” the officer said.He said the official assured the woman of good returns and told her to install a mobile messaging app. The woman then received a link to a product on the e-commerce platform and was asked to share a screenshot of it. Initially, the woman transferred Rs1,024 and received Rs1,428 in return. When she transferred Rs2,390 and Rs1,690, the crooks transferred Rs17,700 to her account, gaining her confidence. “The crooks then told the woman that if she wanted to earn more, she needed to invest more,” he said.The officer said the woman then continued transferring money to the bank accounts provided by the crooks. She transferred Rs30.26 lakh but did not receive any returns. The crooks then demanded Rs2 lakh from her to release the money that they claimed was blocked. “The woman realised that she had been duped and approached the police,” the officer said.
