Udupi: Woman loses over Rs 31 lakh in Facebook work-from-home scam

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, December 8, 2025: A 55-year-old woman from Udyavara has reportedly lost over ₹31 lakh after falling prey to an online work-from-home scam promoted through a Facebook advertisement.

In her complaint to the CEN police station, Vijayalakshmi stated that on November 29 she came across a Facebook post offering “work from home by online and earn.” After clicking the ad, she received a WhatsApp message from a person claiming to be an HR executive from the “NSE corporate office.”

She was asked to fill out a form to begin part-time work and was then sent multiple links via WhatsApp and Telegram, through which she was given online “tasks.” Vijayalakshmi told police that she initially received payments for the tasks, which made the offer seem genuine.

On December 1, she was added to a Telegram account named Bir Kavish, who redirected her to another account called Guha Anuasuya. She was informed that she could earn 30–40% returns by investing ₹1,000, ₹3,000, or ₹5,000. She first transferred ₹1,000 and ₹2,000 via a QR code provided by the accused and received ₹3,900 in return.

Convinced of its legitimacy, she continued transferring money as instructed. In total, she sent ₹31,00,067. After receiving the money, the accused allegedly stopped responding and did not return her investment or any promised profit.

Realising she had been cheated, she filed a complaint. The case has been registered under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act and Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).