Mumbai Woman Duped of ₹12 Lakh in Part-Time Job Scam; Cyber Cell Launches Probe

A woman entrepreneur from Dadar has been duped of nearly ₹12 lakh by a three-member gang under the pretext of offering a part-time job. The Central Regional Cyber Cell police have registered a case under charges of cheating and relevant sections of the IT Act and have launched a probe to trace the accused — which includes a woman who first contacted the victim.

According to the police, the complainant, who runs her own private company, received a message on 20 October from a woman identifying herself as Neha Thakur. Neha claimed to work as a “leader” with Focus Management Consultant Pvt. Ltd., and offered the complainant a part-time job posting reviews and comments for hotels on Google.

Neha promised the woman ₹40 per review, claiming she could earn up to ₹3,000 a day by writing multiple reviews. Once the complainant agreed, Neha sent her a few links and added her to a WhatsApp group. Shortly after, a fake bank account was allegedly created in the complainant’s name by the fraudsters.

Following Neha’s instructions, the woman began submitting reviews and sharing screenshots as proof. Initially, she received commission amounts in her bank account, which made her believe the work was genuine. Later, she was offered prepaid tasks — requiring her to pay an advance amount, with the promise of higher commissions on completion.

Trusting the offer, the woman paid several instalments and continued completing the assigned tasks. Between 20 and 23 October 2025, she invested a total of ₹12.14 lakh in different tasks. However, despite completing the assignments, she never received her promised commissions or refund.

When she tried to withdraw the balance from her account, the transaction failed. On contacting Neha and her supposed superiors, she was told that her account was “frozen” and asked to deposit more money to reactivate it — a demand she refused. The fraudsters then stopped responding to her calls and messages.

Realising she had been duped, the woman approached the Central Regional Cyber Cell and filed a complaint against Neha and two others. After verification, the police registered a case of cheating and criminal breach of trust.

Investigators are now tracing the bank accounts where the defrauded amount was transferred. A special team has been formed to identify and arrest the accused, police said.