A 30-year-old man, Golu, has been arrested for his involvement in a prepaid task cyber scam that defrauded a South Delhi-based advocate of Rs2.8 lakh. The arrest was made by Delhi Police after a detailed investigation into the case, which had come to light when the victim reported the fraud.
According to police, the scam worked by luring people into investing money in exchange for seemingly easy work-from-home tasks, with promises of significant returns. In this case, the advocate received a WhatsApp message offering a job that required minimal effort—just 2-3 hours a day. The message led him to a Telegram channel where he was promised payments for reviewing items on Google.
Initially, the scammers made small payments to gain the advocate’s trust. As he became more comfortable, they introduced a “prepaid task” system, wherein the victim was asked to invest more money for higher returns. The fraudsters first convinced the advocate to invest Rs1,000, promising a return of Rs1,300. Later, the amounts escalated, with the victim eventually investing Rs1 lakh, under the illusion of substantial earnings.
To manipulate the situation, the scammers showed the advocate fake digital wallet balances to create the appearance of successful investments. However, when the victim attempted to withdraw his funds, he was blocked from accessing his account. The fraudsters claimed there were “server issues,” but the advocate quickly realized he had been scammed and reported the incident to the South Delhi Cyber Cell.
Following the investigation, the police arrested Golu, a farmer from Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh. During interrogation, Golu confessed to being roped into the scam by an individual named Atul, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the operation. Golu revealed that he had provided his bank account details to Atul to receive some money due to financial difficulties related to his father’s medical expenses.
The police have since frozen multiple bank accounts linked to the scam and are continuing to investigate the role of Atul and others involved. Authorities are also working to track down Atul, who remains at large.