The Adugodi police have arrested 12 interstate cybercrime fraudsters, including the main accused Harshvardhan, for duping a 43-year-old woman of Rs 5 lakh through a fake work-from-home job scam. Harshvardhan operated the job racket for two years from a call centre in Uttar Pradesh.
The gang targeted random people by calling and messaging fake online job offers. Victims were asked to complete tasks, after which the fraudsters claimed errors and demanded registration on new platforms to withdraw earnings.
Initially, the gang transferred small amounts of Rs 10,000-20,000 to victims to build trust, then persuaded them to invest lakhs with promises of higher returns. Police estimate the gang has defrauded people of nearly Rs 1 crore.
In April, Soumya Banu, a resident of L R Nagar in Adugodi, was lured by a message offering a commission-based work-from-home project. After completing assigned tasks, she was directed to register on a platform to withdraw earnings.
She initially received small payments but later transferred Rs 5 lakh in phases via UPI to various accounts, believing she would receive Rs 10 lakh in return. When asked for an additional Rs 3 lakh, she suspected fraud and reported the matter to police.
Other accused include Akash Kumar Yadav, Gorakanath, Akash Kumar Singh, Amit Yadav, Pratap Singh, Birjesh Singh, Raj Mishra, Tushar Mishra, and Gautham from Uttar Pradesh; Sonu from Maharashtra; and Sujith Kumar from Bihar. Several were arrested in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra and brought to Bengaluru.
Police seized 400 SIM cards, 140 ATM cards, 22 bank passbooks, and 27 mobile phones during the operation.
