Cyber criminals dupe Seraikela residents of Rs Four lakh on pretext of providing Tata Steel job

Mail News Service

Seraikela, June 4: Cyber criminals have targeted residents of Seraikela, causing financial losses and distress. In two separate incidents, Seraikela locals fell victim to online scams, resulting in a loss of Rs 99,000 from Manoj Modak’s account and a staggering amount of Rs 3,92,500 in installments from businessman Shankar Shambhu’s nephew, Devashish Agarwal’s account, under the guise of securing a job at Tata Steel.

The incidents have caused concern among the trading community in Seraikela. Both victims have lodged complaints with the Seraikela police, alleging fraudulent withdrawal of funds from their accounts by unidentified cyber criminals.

Manoj Modak, a resident of Seraikela, received a call from an individual claiming to be a senior official from Ranchi. The caller offered him a relief amount of Rs 8,000 under the drought relief scheme. In order to receive the funds, Modak was instructed to download a mobile app. Trusting the caller, Modak downloaded the app as instructed.

Shortly after, the cyber criminal called Modak again, requesting the OTP (One-Time Password) that had been sent to his mobile number. Caught up in excitement, Modak shared the OTP with the fraudster. Within seconds, Rs 99,000 was fraudulently withdrawn from Modak’s account. When Modak realized what had happened and attempted to contact the fraudster again, the phone was switched off, leaving him devastated.

In another incident, Devashish Agarwal, the nephew of Shankar Shambhu, a Seraikela resident, fell prey to a scam promising a job at Tata Steel. A cyber criminal managed to deceive Agarwal into paying Rs 3,92,500 through phone transactions. Once the money was transferred, the fraudster ceased all communication, leaving Agarwal to realize that he had been conned. The scam unfolded over several days, with the fraudsters masquerading as Kolkata residents and promising Agarwal a job at Tata Steel. They manipulated him by claiming to assist with form-filling and arranging exams. Agarwal was repeatedly swindled out of money, with the criminals demanding installment payments for exam fees and promises of passing the exams. However, after realizing that the exams were fake and the forms had been submitted fraudulently, Agarwal discovered he had been deceived.