Pune Cyber Police Nab Gang Defrauding Victims Through Online Task Scam On Google Search, Telegram; Complainant Duped Of Rs 35 Lakhs
Pune, 15th September 2023: Pune’s Cyber Police Station recently cracked down on a criminal gang involved in cheating people through enticing part-time job offers involving Google Reviews. The gang members have been taken into custody, and a case has been registered against them under various sections of the Information Technology Act.
The gang, which operated by contacting potential victims through WhatsApp, promised them lucrative part-time jobs with high commissions. They baited their victims by assigning Google search tasks, earning their trust by depositing small commission amounts into their bank accounts after task completion. Subsequently, the gang persuaded victims to participate in prepaid tasks through a Telegram group and asked them to deposit increasing amounts of money over time.
During the investigation, the victim obtained information about the ICICI Bank account where their funds were transferred. It was also revealed that some of the stolen funds were transferred from the account to a payment gateway company. Further analysis revealed that the fraudulently obtained funds were converted into USDT (Tether, a cryptocurrency) and sent to a wallet address linked to the main accused, Tushar Ajwani.
Acting on the obtained information, a police team consisting of PSI Sachin Jadhav, Police Constable Amar Bansode, Rajkumar Jaba, Navnath Jadhav, and Driver Sunil Sonu from the Cyber Police Station in Pune was dispatched to Juhu, Mumbai. On September 13, 2023, they successfully arrested the main accused, Tushar Prakash Ajwani, aged 37 years, a resident of Andheri West, Mumbai.
During the arrest, an Apple mobile phone was seized from Ajwani. Subsequently, he was produced before the court of Judicial Magistrate (First Class) in Pune. The court, considering the seriousness of the crime, granted police custody of the accused until September 18. The police are now conducting a thorough investigation to locate and apprehend any accomplices of the accused.
The operation was carried out under the guidance of DCP (cyber crime and EOW) Srinivas Ghadge, ACP RN Raje and Senior Police Inspector Minal Supe-Patil.
The Cyber Police Station located in police headquarters in Shivaji Nagar, has urged the public to exercise caution and be vigilant against criminal gangs luring individuals with fraudulent schemes related to part-time jobs, fake tasks, and promised commissions.
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