THRISSUR: Thrissur City Cyber ​​Police have arrested a gang of online fraudsters who extorted large sums of money from job seekers by offering them jobs in the showrooms of commercial establishments. The arrested persons are East Delhi native Sooraj (23), Fasalpur native Varun (26) and Visakhapattanam native Jacob Raj (22). They were arrested from Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Police are trying to find out the number of persons cheated by the gang and the money extorted by them.

The gang usually starts the fraud by collecting details of job seekers on online job portals. Subsequently, they will create fake e-mail addresses and websites similar to the names of leading business entities in the country. They will then send job offers to the job-seekers from such e-mails. The job offer will be based on the educational qualifications and age of the candidates. As the gang forges the letter pads and documents in the name of institutions, the job seekers do not become suspicious. Candidates who contact the phone number provided in the email will be made to attend an online interview and online tests.

Once the gang becomes clear that the job seeker has fallen into its trap, it will ask the job seeker to deposit small amounts into the account for admission fees and training charges. It will convince the job seeker that the amount invested will be refunded along with the first salary upon appointment. Many do not file complaints as the money lost is very small. The accused themselves have stated that they charge up to Rs 3,500 as a training-admission fee. The scam came to light when the unemployed job seekers approached the companies.

It is learnt that the gang used to offer jobs in various showrooms across different states. The companies have not lost any money. Upon examining the mobile phones, laptops and pen drives of the accused, the police found that they had committed fraud by creating letterheads and forging documents in the name of reputed companies in India, including airlines.

The case was registered by the city cyber police on the basis of a complaint lodged with city police commissioner R Aditya. The gang was arrested by the team led by Thrissur Cyber ​​Crime SI KS Santosh.