People lost lakhs in the greed of earning from home, and a new online scam is making victims.

People are being cheated by giving them the lure of easy earning in the name of online tasks. A businessman in Pune fell prey to this scam and lost Rs 12 lakh in two days.

Nowadays, it has become common to receive messages on WhatsApp or SMS about "earning money from home". Many people ignore these messages, but some people get greedy and believe them and then a big fraud happens with them. One such case has come to light in Pune, where a businessman lost about Rs 12 lakh by falling into such a trap.

The lure of online tasks, then fraud of lakhs

The incident started with a common WhatsApp message. The businessman received a message in which it was written that money can be earned by doing some easy online tasks. At first, he was given some simple tasks, like rating the hotel on Google Maps or clicking on a link. On completing these tasks, he was immediately transferred Rs 100-150. This convinced the businessman that this was a real online job.

After this, he was added to a group on Telegram, where even bigger tasks were given under the name "Merchant Task". But to complete these tasks, the businessman was first asked to deposit money. The person, who had already earned money from small tasks, thought that this would be the next step and started sending money.

Kept getting trapped in the trap

In a few hours, the fraudsters made various excuses and asked the businessman to send money in several installments. Within two days, he had lost about Rs 11.5 lakh. When he finally got suspicious and asked for his money back, the scammers blocked him. Now neither is there any response from the Telegram group nor is there any contact from that number.

How to avoid such scams?

To avoid such online task scams, it is important that you remain alert and always remember a few things:

If you receive any unknown message, ignore it.

Do not click on any link without thinking, especially if it claims to earn money.

If someone asks for money first to complete a task, then understand that something is fishy.

Never give your bank details, Aadhaar, PAN card etc. to a stranger.

Do not join unknown groups on Telegram or WhatsApp.

A little doubt, big security

If you have even the slightest doubt about any offer, then directly consult an expert or inform the police. Remember, the most important thing in today's era is cyber safety. As easy as it seems to earn money in the online world, it is equally difficult to avoid getting trapped in it.

This new scam happening in the name of online tasks and jobs is looting people's hard-earned money in a moment. If you also receive any such message, then be alert immediately – because vigilance is the biggest security.