The City Cybercrime Unit (CCU) on Saturday arrested two men, Krishna Baban Rao Pawar and Ramakant Jivan Dhanawate, for allegedly defrauding a victim of Rs 1.61 lakh through a fake online job offer. The accused, both natives of Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, are believed to have been involved in 140 cases of similar fraud nationwide, with nine cases reported in the state.
The scam began when the victim, a city resident, received a message on a social messaging app from the accused offering her a part-time job. The scammers directed her to register on a website and start making payments for various fees associated with the job. They initially sent her small amounts of money to encourage her to continue. Over time, they collected a total of Rs 1,61,378 from her.
However, when the victim requested her money back, the fraudsters froze her account. Realizing she had been scammed, the victim approached the CCU, leading to the arrest of the two suspects.
According to CCU DCP Dara Kavitha, the accused were under surveillance when they came to the city to open a new current account. They were arrested while staying at a house in Gachibowli.
Police seized several items from the accused, including laptops, mobile phones, debit cards, cheque books, rubber stamps, and other materials used in the scam. The duo has been produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody.
The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are looking into the possibility of other victims being affected by similar scams.
