Woman loses ₹54 lakh in work-from-home scam! Here's what it is and how to protect yourself

• A woman in Navi Mumbai was reportedly duped of ₹54 lakh in the guise of “work from home”.
• The victim was tasked with giving reviews to companies and restaurants in exchange for money.
• She was reportedly asked to pay ₹54 lakh to get more tasks, after which the accused stopped replying.

Job hunting is something that most of us do online, be it on social media or various online job portals. Amid rising online fraud, hunting for a job also involves myriad risks as scammers lurk around every corner of our digital world.

According to a report by PTI, a 37-year-old woman from Airoli in Navi Mumbai was a victim of online fraud, wherein ₹54 lakh was stolen from her. Based on a complaint from the victim, the police have arrested four unidentified individuals.

Here’s how the scam works and how you can protect yourself from it:

What is the work-from-home scam?

According to the report, the woman, who was at home on maternity leave wanted to utilise the time to earn some money. The scammers reportedly offered her freelance work, asking her to give ratings for companies and restaurants in exchange for money.

She was informed that she had to complete five such tasks and then she would be paid a good amount of money. She agreed and paid the accused ₹54.30 lakh in various accounts so that she could receive tasks.

After completing the tasks, the victim contacted the accused for her payment. However, the accused stopped replying and the victim then realised that she was scammed and contacted the police.

In a way, the accused are not the only ones doing something wrong. The victim was also giving fake reviews to companies and restaurants in exchange for money, without having used their services.

Fake reviews are a huge issue as potential customers depend on these reviews to decide whether or not to use the services of a company or a restaurant.

How to protect yourself from such scams

• Do not approach suspicious sources for a job. If the offers are too good to be true, they usually aren’t.
• Keep in mind that you do not have to pay anyone to get genuine jobs.
• Avoid people that ask you to pay money to get jobs or tasks.
• Do not share sensitive information like card or net banking details, CVV or OTPs.
• Do not engage in dishonest practices such as giving fake reviews in exchange for money.
• Avoid replying to people offering money in exchange for giving reviews or ratings.

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