A retired Indian Navy officer has become the latest victim of a ‘like and earn’ scam, also known as task fraud. The scammers managed to dupe him of  Rs 5.97 crore by luring him with a part-time job where he was asked to review and like international holiday destinations on Google Maps and promised  Rs 50 for every like and review.

According to the information submitted with the cyber cell of Mumbai Police, he received a WhatsApp call from an unknown number in January. The caller, identifying herself as Anaya Sharma from Pinstrom Technologies Ltd in Bangladesh, offered him a part-time job. The job involved liking and reviewing international holiday destinations on Google Maps, with a promise of earning  Rs 50 for each like and review.” After this initial contact, I was added to a Telegram group via a link, where I received 21 different tasks. Upon completing three tasks, I received  Rs 150 in my bank account, the details of which I had shared with the fraudulent group. I also received  Rs 300 for rating a holiday destination on Google,” reads his statement to the cyber cell.