College dropouts Rs 60 Crore Scam, Online Jobs and High Returns Exposed. Mumbai Police Crackdown.
In just three months, two college dropouts in Gujarat, India, managed to trick people out of Rs 60 crore ($7.2M) using fake online jobs and investment schemes. They promised big salaries and high returns, but it was all a scam.
The Mumbai Police caught Rupesh Pravikumar Thakkar, 33, and Pankajbhai Govardhan Oad, 34, after a teenager lost Rs 2.45 lakh ($3K) to them and reported it. The police found Rs 1.1 crore ($132K) in their bank accounts and froze it. Further investigation revealed they had scammed many others out of Rs 60 crore ($7.2M). However, the main person behind the scam is still on the loose, and the police think he might be hiding in London.
The whole thing came to light when a 19-year-old student named Krish complained to the police in October. He fell for an offer for online jobs, thinking he’d get Rs 10,000 ($120) per week for writing restaurant reviews. They also promised him extra money, Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000, ($60) every day. Krish also mentioned that a woman named Maria convinced him to invest Rs 1,000 ($12), promising a profit of Rs 300 ($4). She said if he invested more, he’d make even more money.
Krish invested Rs 1,000 ($12) and got a message saying he earned Rs 1,650 ($20). Encouraged, he invested more, eventually reaching Rs 2.45 lakh ($3K). However, when he tried to withdraw his earnings, he couldn’t. The police sought help from cybercrime officials, leading to the arrest of the two guys.
