Tarun Karthick
Port Blair, 19 May 2024
A resident of Port Blair has fallen victim to an online financial fraud, losing a substantial sum of money in a scam that promised child modelling opportunities.
The victim, aged 34, who lives in Delanipur, reported the incident to local authorities, seeking the registration of an FIR against the unknown fraudsters. According to victim, the fraudulent scheme began on March 11, 2024, when she received a message on Facebook from a page named “Visual Child Models.” The message, originating from the Facebook Page inquired if she was interested in child modelling.
The victim expressed interest and was subsequently directed to a Telegram account under the name “Sofia Admin”. There, she was offered a task-based job that required her to deposit money for each task, with the promise of rewards upon completion.
Over the course of several days, the victim transferred a total of Rs. 1,26,000 in multiple transactions to various bank accounts as instructed by the scammers.
Despite the promises of rewards and profits related to the child modelling tasks from home, the victim received neither the promised benefits nor a return of her funds. Additionally, the fraudsters continued to demand further payments.
In her complaint, the victim has also mentioned registering a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. She has provided duly attested screenshots of her conversations on Telegram and Facebook, along with copies of her bank account statements, to support her case.