Delhi woman duped in work-from-home scam; 2 held from Lucknow

The Delhi Police have arrested two men from Lucknow for allegedly duping a woman in a work-from-home job fraud, officials said on Sunday.

The complainant, Smita Verma, was duped of Rs 31,800 after being offered a work-from-home opportunity to rate hotels, they said.

''After receiving small initial payments to win her trust, she was lured into investing larger sums for prepaid tasks,'' an official said.

Alok Kumar (32) and Aditya Shukla (22), both residents of Lucknow, were arrested for their involvement in the scam, he said.

The accused used to sell multiple bank accounts to a syndicate involved in cyber fraud for small commissions, police said, adding that Alok, an e-rickshaw driver, sold two current accounts for a 1.5-per cent cut while Shukla sold six accounts for 3-4 per cent. According to the police, the syndicate operated through fake online job offers, fraudulent marketplaces, and mule bank accounts used to channel proceeds of cybercrime.