Gurugram woman duped of Rs. 10 lakh on Telegram app

A woman was allegedly duped of more than Rs. 10 lakh by online frauds who promised her great returns on her investments and asked her to watch and like YouTube videos on Telegram app, police said on Friday.

The victim, Shanu Priya Varshney, said she was added to a Telegram group and asked to like some videos on YouTube and get profit on investment.

According to her complaint, the Khandsa Road area resident had on February 1 received a message on WhatsApp which offered her good returns on investment in digital marketing. She was asked to join a Telegram group, where she was asked to watch and like some videos on YouTube.

Initially, when she did that she got some money in her account as a commission.

"Then on February 2, in the name of VIP membership, I was asked to pay ₹8,000. My account was registered on another website and I started investing. On February 4, I transferred more money in the name of a Super VIP membership," she said in her complaint.

Thus, she ended up depositing ₹10,75,000 on the portal, and when she asked for a refund or profit, the frauds asked her to pay another ₹4 lakh.

Following her complaint, an FIR was registered against the unknown accused under sections 419 (cheating by impersonation) and 420 (cheating) of IPC at Cybercrime Wst Police Station on Thursday.

"Action was initiated immediately as soon as the complaint was received. An attempt has been made to freeze the amount by informing the bank about the fraud," said Head Constable Naveen Kumar, the Investigating Officer in the case.