Palakkad: Two youths, including a 19-year-old, have been arrested for cheating two job aspirants of ₹1.6 crore on the pretext of offering online part-time jobs. Kozhikode Thiruvambady native CK Younis (25) was arrested for cheating ₹1.2 crore from a Kalpathi native, while Mandalraj (19), from Gujarat, was nabbed for cheating a Nenmara native of ₹58.77 lakh. The Palakkad cyber police arrested both culprits. The duo contacted both the complainants through social media. 

The complainants first did part-time jobs using the links provided by the culprits, who deposited small amounts in their bank accounts as remuneration. Later, the victims of the cyber crime, were asked to deposit huge sums as part of 'registration' and some other charges. Younis and Mandalraj withdrew the entire money after the complainants deposited hefty sums.  

It was found that ₹54.50 lakh, which was cheated out of the Nenmara native, was transferred to the accused’s bank account in Surat. The amount was regained within five days after the case was registered. Meanwhile, Mandalraj was arrested by the cyber team in Surat. 

Investigators found that ₹5 lakh from the amount the Kalpathi native lost was transferred to the accused’s bank account in Thiruvambady and was later withdrawn using a cheque. Younis was nabbed by the cyber police following an investigation centred on the bank. Meanwhile, the investigative team discovered that a complaint registered in Rajasthan, too, had links to this bank account. The cyber police stated that more people are involved in these cases, and the investigations will continue. 

The cases were investigated by a cyber police team comprising cyber crime police inspector T Shashikumar, SI CS Ramesh, V Rajesh, senior civil officers M Shiju, Shihabudeen, CN Rajesh, S Sujith, M Prasad, CPOs EK Vinod, PK Sharanya, R Padmanand, K Subair and Muhammad Fasil.

According to the cyber police, fraudsters like them usually operate by luring victims through digital ads on social media platforms, offering part-time jobs promising exorbitant remuneration. The 'jobs' can be as trivial as copy-pasting, basic editing or translation, and professionals, including doctors and engineers, won't mind earning extra ₹5000 to ₹10000, sparing an hour or two. 

The few initial flawless transactions will help the cheaters earn the trust of the victims. In the next stage, the correspondence will be shifted to Telegram, and eventually, the victims are cajoled into paying huge sums towards 'registration' or some other formalities. 

By the time they realise the money they were made to pay was exponentially higher than the amount they received, it is too late. The offenders vanish into thin air the moment they are questioned or doubted. Interestingly, the victims are mostly educated, well-off individuals who crave quick, easy money.