Thane: IT professional loses Rs 17.2 lakh to cyber fraud

A 42-year-old IT professional from Maharashtra's Thane district lost Rs 17.2 lakh after two people promised him quick money through a part-time job. A man and a woman got in touch with the complainant, who is employed with a top Indian IT firm, on August 3 and offered him a part-time job related to hotel bookings, the official said.

The group allegedly emailed him a link to do the task via the Telegram app, according to the police. The techie was initially instructed to pay a little fee for registration. The two then used a variety of justifications, including promises of easy money, to convince him to pay extra.

After extracting Rs 17.28 lakh from the IT professional over the next few days, the duo became evasive when he asked them about the money promised to him, the official said. Based on a complaint from the techie, the Ambernath police on Tuesday registered a case under the IT Act. The police gave the names of the accused as Rahul Sharma and Sneha.