An IT professional residing in Nagpur has reportedly fallen victim to an online "task scam," resulting in a loss of Rs 42.55 lakh. In this scheme, cyber fraudsters enticed him into performing various tasks with the promise of financial gains.

The incident came to light earlier this week when the aggrieved individual approached the Cyber police station to file a complaint. Subsequently, an offence was registered under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and other relevant provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act. The victim, identified as Praful Ragrao Gondekar, aged 30, received a link for an online part-time job through WhatsApp. He was subsequently added to a chat group named "LY online trading D101," which comprised 35 members.

Within the chat group, Gondekar was informed that the members had reaped substantial profits from their investments. The fraudsters, leveraging persuasive tactics, urged him to register on a website by promising him significant financial returns. The victim proceeded to register on the website but found himself unable to generate any income. Consequently, he was instructed to complete various tasks in June, but with each failed attempt, he incurred financial losses.

Over the course of two months, Gondekar suffered a total loss of Rs 42.55 lakh to these fraudulent actors.