People are losing thousands of dollars to online employment frauds, which are becoming more common. In a recent instance of cybercrime, 56-year-old Sarikonda Raju of Nagpur was duped out of an astonishing Rs 77 lakhs by a crafty scammer. Raju was tricked into believing that he could get money by just "liking" videos on the well-known YouTube platform.

When the cybercriminal initially contacted Raju using his Telegram account, the intricate scam got started. Raju was tricked into sending screenshots of YouTube channels he "liked" by the scammer, who claimed to be an opportunity seeker, as part of this fictitious money-making scheme.

Early exchanges appeared to be amicable, with Raju getting paid for the ostensibly easy work. Motivated by these exchanges, he proceeded even farther and divulged his bank account information, thinking that it would be used to obtain the assured profits. But then things took a dark turn when the scammer used Raju's bank account information to open fraudulent accounts and withdraw large amounts of money without authorization.

The crime branch moved in as the victim struggled with the fallout from this financial scam. They arrested Sagar Banode, a bookie, on Saturday from a Gadge Nagar home on Ramna Maroti Road. Banode was discovered to be taking bets on the eagerly awaited India vs. Pakistan World Cup match during this arrest, which exposed a possible unlawful betting component in the case.