Amazon HR imposter scams ₹3.42 lakh in Mumbai. Here’s what happened

As per a report by the Indian Express, a man aged 33 and employed at a firm based in Andheri, Mumbai, fell for a job scam. He saw a job advertisement for Amazon on Facebook and clicked on the link to know more about it. Upon clicking, he received the WhatsApp number of a woman named Mary, who claimed to be a hiring manager for Amazon.

The woman named Mary, who claimed to be a hiring manager for Amazon, engaged the victim in a conversation and asked him if he was interested in a part-time job. When he showed interest, Mary told him that the job involved increasing the sales of the company’s online platform by completing various tasks, as per police reports.

Mary then sent the victim a link and asked him to create an account to start the work. After creating the account, the victim received a bonus of Rs. 80, as reported by a police officer quoted in the Indian Express.

The scammer, posing as the Amazon hiring manager, instructed the victim to make a Rs. 200 recharge and purchase a product. After completing the task, the victim received Rs. 450 in his eWallet account. This created a sense of trust between the two, and the victim continued to complete tasks, buy products, and make recharges to earn bonuses, as per police reports.

Over a few days, the victim spent Rs. 2.4 lakhs but earned a total of Rs. 5.13 lakhs, which were deposited into his eWallet account. However, when he tried to transfer the money to his bank account, he received an error message declining his request.

Upon inquiring with the HR manager (Mary), she informed the victim that he would need to pay a 20% tax to withdraw the money. She warned him that he wouldn’t be able to access the funds otherwise. As per the police, the victim did not have the money to pay the tax, so he mortgaged his family’s gold and used the proceeds to pay the Rs. 1.02 lakh tax.

The victim discovered that he had been scammed when he was unable to transfer the money from his eWallet to his bank account even after paying the tax. In fact, his eWallet account was deactivated, and he lost a total of ₹3.42 lakh in the process.

After being scammed, he lodged a complaint at the Diva police station, but since the incident occurred in Andheri, the FIR was transferred to the MIDC police station for further investigation.

The police have pressed charges against three individuals under sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as section 66D (cheating by personation using computer resources) of the Information Technology Act. They have also initiated contact with service providers to obtain information about the beneficiaries and bank accounts involved in the case, and are actively pursuing the investigation.

It is worth noting that online job scams are not a recent occurrence, as several individuals have reported losing money to similar scams while attempting to withdraw funds from their eWallets in recent months.

Scammers have been utilizing social media channels like Telegram to target potential victims with the lure of easy money. However, they ultimately deceive individuals into investing more money and steal their deposits.

It is always recommended to be cautious of such “too good to be true” job opportunities. Here are some essential points to keep in mind while searching for job opportunities online:

• Conduct research online to verify the legitimacy of the company.
• Be wary of requests for sensitive personal or financial information.
• Look out for warning signs such as poor communication from the employer, requests for payment to work, and overly aggressive hiring practices.
• In particular, for job opportunities that require a deposit in exchange for a bonus, it is best to avoid such offers.