Beware of YouTube Job Scam: Noida Woman Loses ₹13 Lakh
According to the Indian Express, a woman named Kartika from Panchsheel Hynish Society in Greater Noida experienced a financial loss of more than ₹13 lakh due to a WhatsApp scam. Kartika received an attractive work-from-home opportunity through the messaging app, which involved watching, liking, and subscribing to YouTube videos in exchange for money. Tempted by the seemingly easy task, Kartika communicated with the scammers through a Telegram handle, where they guaranteed daily earnings ranging from ₹50 to ₹5,000.
Web of fraud: Growing losses
Initially, the scammers kept their word and credited Kartika’s account with ₹150 as a reward for her activities on YouTube. Encouraged by these seemingly legitimate payments, he continued to perform his duties. The scammers then convinced him to invest on a fake Nasdaq website and promised even higher returns. Trusting them, Kartika invested ₹2,000 and to her surprise, they returned ₹3,150 as profit on the same day.
As the fraud continued, the fraudsters forced Kartika to send large sums of money, including ₹5,000, ₹30,000 and ₹90,000. When he inquired about the lack of return on his investments, they claimed that he had failed in the task and introduced new transactions in which the sums kept increasing. Afraid of losing the money she had already donated, Kartika continued to send the funds, hoping to get back her original investment.
To fund these transactions, Kartika and her husband resorted to taking personal loans, which racked up more debt. The scammers demanded additional payments and stated that a threshold of Rs 15 lakh must be crossed to receive the payment. Despite her growing suspicions, Kartika and her husband continued to comply with the scammers’ demands.
After the fraudsters demanded an additional tax of ₹5,20,000, they finally realized that they had fallen victim to a scam. After this, they filed a criminal complaint with the police.
Police have registered cases of cheating and impersonation against unidentified culprits under section 66D of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008. This unfortunate incident highlights the importance of exercising caution when dealing with online offers and avoiding falling victim to such scams, which can lead to substantial financial losses.
5 important tips to protect yourself from online scams:
While these 5 tips should form the basis of your business to stay safe, what’s even more important is not to trust strangers. You must verify the claims of strangers and not give them money for any reason. And remember, if what they promise is too good to be true, it probably is, and you shouldn’t be communicating with them. Stories of rich returns are always exaggerated, if not completely false.
Some basic precautions you can take
1. Keep your smartphone safe
Regularly update your smartphone with the latest security software, web browser and operating system to protect against viruses and malware.
2. Create a strong password
Create a strong 8 character password that includes upper and lower case letters, special characters and numbers. Avoid sharing or writing it down.
3. Beware of suspicious links
Avoid clicking on links from unknown senders to avoid phishing scams designed to steal private login information.
4. Be careful on social media
Keep social media light and avoid sharing sensitive information such as usernames and passwords, as this information can be exploited by cybercriminals.
5. Protect personal information
Do not post personal birthdays or birthdays of family, friends and colleagues on social media to prevent hackers from gaining access to sensitive information.
