Stock broker attempts suicide after falling for online pay-for-work scam

According to the complaint received by the Vadodara cyber crime police station, the man — a stockmarket broker — fell for the trap when the cyber fraudsters contacted him over WhatsApp on May 22, “offering a job” that involved liking YouTube videos “to help YouTube celebrities quickly grow a following and willing to pay to increase their visibility”.

Before attempting suicide, the man, in an audio note recorded for his wife, has said that he “developed trust” in the website after being “able to withdraw Rs 15,000” as payment for one day. Thereafter, he deposited a “recharge balance” of close to Rs 30 lakh, as directed by the website. The man claimed in the note that he had taken loans from friends and relatives and had “no face” after losing all the money, driving him to “take the extreme step”.

In a typical case of cyber entrapment, the police said the man was lured into making “quick money” from online tasks of “liking” posts of social media celebrities and thereafter asked to deposit “recharge balance” to unlock the levels in the tasks for more revenue.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crime) H S Makadiya said, “We received a complaint from his wife as he had attempted suicide within four days of falling for this trap… He has lost Rs 30 lakh and taken about Rs 12 to 15 lakh on credit from friends and family… We are investigating the WhatsApp chats and also the website through which he had deposited money.”

The Vadodara Cyber Crime police station, probing similar cases, was in the process of filing an FIR at the time of going to the press.