Can you imagine a vegetable seller scamming people out of their hard-earned money through elaborate online schemes? Well, that’s exactly what happened when a former vegetable vendor turned nefarious—siphoning off nearly Rs 21 crore by deceiving individuals under the pretext of offering work-from-home jobs.
According to The Times of India, Rishab, a 27-year-old resident of Sector 9 in Gurugram, was actively involved in over 37 cases across 10 states in India, contributing to 855 scams. He was arrested last week following intelligence gathered from his bank account, through which he received money.
The accused was purportedly a vegetable vendor based in Faridabad. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic affected his earnings, he closed the business and sought various jobs to support his household. According to Uttarakhand Police Officer Ankush Mishra, the man “met an old friend who was already involved in orchestrating online frauds. In just six months, since he started committing frauds, he netted Rs 21 crore.”
What Was His Modus Operandi?
Rishab maintained a list of numbers that he used to inquire if people were interested in work-from-home opportunities. To add authenticity to the offer, he created a fake Marriott Bonvoy website called ‘marriotwork.com,’ where users were instructed to write “reviews”
His most recent victim was a businessman from Uttarakhand. The individual initially received the work-from-home offer via WhatsApp and, according to the report, initially perceived it as legitimate. Subsequently, the businessman conversed with ‘Rishab Sharma’ from Marriott Bonvoy and his colleague, Sonia.
To build trust, the scammers initially transferred an amount of Rs 10,000 to the businessman’s ICICI bank account, followed by further payments. However, suspicions arose when the businessman was urged to invest more in the opportunity. When he inquired about returns, the scammers dismissed his queries, falsely promising even greater profits.
“Every time I asked for returns, they would persuade me to invest more, claiming the profits could amount to a crore. Eventually, they ceased responding to my calls and messages, and the numbers were switched off. By then, I had already invested Rs 20 lakh,” he stated.
This was the method employed by the scammer to swindle many out of their hard-earned money. According to the police, he even transferred money to China for cryptocurrency and purportedly operated as an agent for an international gang.
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