The Cyber Crime Police have arrested Neeraj Pandey (25), a resident of Ludhiana, in connection with a work-from-home scam that defrauded a woman of Rs9 lakh. He is the third accused in the case, following the earlier arrests of Shivam (21) and Pramod Kumar (24), also from Ludhiana.
The victim, Gurvinder Pal Kaur, filed a complaint stating that she was approached via a Telegram-based job offer. She was instructed to perform fake online review tasks, with promises of high commissions. Initially, small payments were made to build her trust, but later, the fraudsters persuaded her to transfer over Rs9 lakh under the pretext of unlocking a frozen account.
During the investigation, cyber police traced the money trail to bank accounts held by Shivam and Pramod Kumar. Digital evidence and transaction analysis confirmed fund movements between the accused. Further technical investigation revealed that the Telegram accounts used to communicate with the victim were operated via IP addresses originating from Cambodia, suggesting possible international involvement.
Authorities have warned citizens to be cautious of online job offers requiring upfront transfers and to report suspicious communications to cybercrime authorities immediately.
