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We have seen an increasing rise in the frequency of online scams across different platforms—be it on WhatsApp or through receiving international calls—losing their hard-earned money.

Now, a Gurugram resident has lost a whopping Rs 70 lakh after he fell victim to a work-from-home scam—in which he was promised good returns in the form of commissions. According to a report by The Indian Express, the Gurugram resident received a WhatsApp message that offered him an opportunity to like videos and rate hotels.

“I was promised a commission of Rs 2,000-3,000. They opened a new bank account for me, wherein they deposited Rs 10,000 as a trial bonus. I was given 30 tasks and upon completion of the first level, I got Rs 2,200 credited. the victim said.

He added, ” After withdrawing the commission, they asked me if I wanted to continue, and when I replied in the affirmative, they wiped the account clean and asked me to deposit Rs 10,000 again,”

The victim further claimed that he was falsely made to believe that he was “earning a lot—as many members in their Telegram group were sending screenshots of what they earned working for the fraudsters.”

The Indian Express notes that the victim was later offered a ‘premium’ task with better commission, but this time the fraudsters wanted a deposit of Rs 63,000 to get started.

“I deposited it after which they sent some money and commission to me. By the seventh day, I had sent Rs 27 lakh,” the victim said.

Later, when he tried to withdraw his money, he was told that because the amount he was withdrawing exceeded Rs 2 lakh, he would need to first make a security deposit of “50% of the total amount in his account,” the police said.

The victim said that he did not have enough money at hand to send to the scammers, so he had to wait—and even went into debt as he had to borrow money using loans on his business, his property, as well as his father’s property.

When he deposited the ‘security deposit,’ he was given more tasks—which were also fake—and could not withdraw his money, which had amounted to Rs 70 lakh. Later, he went to the police to report the incident, and investigations are already underway.