Four fall prey to online scams, lose Rs 25L

Four residents of Sirsa fell prey to online scams, incurring losses to the tune of Rs 25 lakh.

Shamsher Singh, a government employee from HUDA at Sector 19, Sirsa, was scammed into transferring Rs 5.84 lakh to a cybercriminal after being promised easy money by completing simple tasks on Telegram. The scammer initially asked for small amounts, but soon demanded larger sums, convincing Shamsher that he needed to pay Rs 11 lakh more to retrieve his money. Realising the fraud too late, Shamsher reported the case to the cybercrime helpline.

In another incident, Dr Komal Bansal, a dermatologist from Ellenabad, was duped of Rs 1.9 lakh after a scammer, posing as an Army officer, promised to pay for medical check-ups for 95 female cadets at the Sirsa Air Force Station. The scammer, claiming to be from the BSF, persuaded her to share her payment details and follow specific instructions, which led to unauthorised withdrawal of funds from her account. The police are investigating the incident after Dr Komal lodged a complaint.

Sandeep Kumar, owner of a cement store in Sirsa, was lured into an online trading scam, in which he lost Rs 15.23 lakh. After receiving a WhatsApp message encouraging him to invest in the stock market, he followed links to download a fraudulent app. Over time, he transferred money into various accounts, expecting high returns. When he attempted to withdraw his funds, the scammers demanded additional payments on the pretext of taxes. Ultimately, when Sandeep was blocked from all communications, he realised he had been scammed.

In another case, Ramesh Kumar from Gaushala Mohalla in Sirsa fell victim to a part-time job scam, losing Rs 2.31 lakh. Ramesh received a WhatsApp message offering a job that involved writing reviews on Google Maps. After several rounds of payments, Ramesh realised he had been tricked. The police have launched investigations into all four cases.