Mumbai: Football coach loses Rs 9.87 lakh in cyber scam

The victim received a link via WhatsApp

A 28-year-old football coach fell victim to a cyber scam, losing a total of Rs 9.87 lakh to fraudsters who exploited the allure of quick money through YouTube video liking scams.

Last week, the victim received a message on WhatsApp from an individual identifying herself as Neha, claiming affiliation with Digital Oceans LLC. This person offered a part-time job that seemed easy - earning money by liking and subscribing to YouTube channels and videos.

The victim was instructed to like and subscribe to various YouTube channels and videos through links provided by Neha. Upon completion, he would send her screenshots of the tasks completed. He received a modest sum of Rs 150 for the initial task.

Soon after, he received another link via WhatsApp, prompting him to join a Telegram group. This marked the beginning of a sequence of events. The Telegram group assigned him several tasks to increase his earnings with a small investment.

He successfully completed a task worth Rs 2,000 within two days, resulting in Rs 2,800 being deposited into his account. Subsequently, he was added to another group, where the cybercriminals requested a sum of Rs 9,000. Trusting their legitimacy, he complied and sent the money.

As the transactions continued, he gradually realised the fraudulent nature of the operation. By the time he had sent Rs 9.87 lakh, he recognised that he had
been scammed.

He promptly reported the incident to the Malad police station, as recounted by an official from the station.

"We have registered the case under various sections of the IPC and initiated an investigation," the official added.

Rs 150
Initial amount received by victim for completing task