In a significant development on Saturday, November 9, 2024, Hyderabad police arrested a 33-year-old man, Muhammad Ali, from Karnataka, in connection with a widespread job fraud case. Ali, a native of Gulbarga, Karnataka, is believed to be part of a syndicate involved in scamming job seekers across the country. His wife, Reshma (alias Swapna), and accomplice Mohammed Naseeruddin Raza, had also been arrested earlier in relation to the same scam.
This was not Ali’s first run-in with the law. In August 2024, he was arrested by Govindpur police in Karnataka for a similar recruitment scam.
According to the victim’s complaint, the fraudulent activities began on September 29, 2023, when she received a call from Reshma. Posing as a Senior HR Manager at top companies like Cognizant (CTS) and IBM, Reshma offered fake job placements. The accused claimed that mass hiring was underway and encouraged the victim to refer students looking for jobs.
In response, the victim sent 30 resumes, hoping to help the students land positions with these reputed companies. Reshma and Ali then requested advance placement fees, promising students that they would secure job offers. The victim transferred 50% of the placement fee to multiple accounts provided by the accused, under the impression that the process was legitimate.
Soon after, the students received fake job offers that appeared to come from the official email IDs of Cognizant and IBM. However, when the victim attempted to follow up with the scammers, the phone numbers went unanswered, and the victims were blocked from contacting the accused. It was only at this point that the victim realized they had been scammed.
The police investigation revealed that Ali and his associates had used fake job offers as bait to collect large sums of money from unsuspecting job seekers, exploiting their trust in well-known brands like Cognizant and IBM.
Following the victim’s complaint, the Hyderabad police launched an investigation, leading to the arrest of Ali. His earlier arrest in Karnataka indicated a pattern of similar offenses, suggesting that this could be part of a larger, organized recruitment scam network. Authorities are now working to track down other potential victims and individuals involved in the fraudulent activities.
The arrest of Ali and his associates highlights the growing concern over recruitment scams targeting job seekers across India. Police advise job aspirants to verify job offers thoroughly before making any payments and to report any suspicious activities promptly.
