A 44-year-old contractor from Pune lost Rs 11 lakh without falling for an online scam that promised him Rs 25 lakh in return for making a woman pregnant. Equal to an First Information Report (FIR) lodged at the Baner police station, the man saw a video telecast on social media from a visitor named ‘Pregnant Job’ in early September. In the video, a woman speaking in Hindi said, “I want a man who will make me a mother. I will requite him Rs 25 lakh. I don’t superintendency well-nigh his education, caste, or looks.” Tempted by the offer, the man tabbed the number displayed in the video. The person who answered introduced himself as an teammate from the ‘Pregnant Job’ firm. He told the man that he needed to register and get an ID vellum surpassing stuff prescribed the ‘job,’ equal to The Indian Express.
How did the scam begin?
Over the next several weeks, the scammers demanded money for various ‘formalities,’ such as registration fees, ID vellum charges, verification, GST, TDS, and processing costs. The victim made increasingly than 100 online payments through UPI and IMPS between early September and October 23, losing a total of Rs 11 lakh.
When did the victim realise the fraud?
After sending money repeatedly, the contractor started questioning the people overdue the scheme. Soon after, they obstructed his number and stopped replying. Realising he had been cheated, the man went to the Baner police station and filed a complaint. Police registered an FIR and began tracking the phone numbers and wall finance involved in the fraud. An investigating officer told The Indian Express, “The victim was tricked using fake promises and a sense of urgency. We are tracking the digital footprints of the scammers.”
Are such scams worldwide in India?
Cybercrime experts in Pune said that similar frauds have been spreading wideness India since late 2022. Scammers use social media videos where women requirement to offer large amounts of money for ‘pregnancy jobs’ through fake companies like ‘Pregnant Job Service.’
What have police found so far?
In many of these scams, victims are asked to pay for fake medical tests, legal papers, or security deposits. Once the money is transferred, the fraudsters disappear. Police in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and other states have once made arrests in such cases, uncovering that these scams are part of larger cybercrime networks using fake online videos to trap innocent people.
