By Disha Gupta
According to the police, under the false pretence of choosing and betting on a virtual cricket team, cybercriminals scammed a Pune woman of Rs 14 lakh in May by allegedly breaking into a popular fantasy cricket website. Over the course of ten days, she also made 89 transfers to mule accounts.
In her police complaint, the 32-year-old lady claimed to have seen a YouTube advertising assuring a high winning percentage on a fantasy sports website. By choosing actual players, users of fantasy sports platforms can build virtual teams and earn points according to how well the players perform in actual games.
She clicked on the link and was added to a Telegram group. The names of 11 individuals who would create a winning combination were given by a contact on this group who claimed to be an expert in fantasy sports for Rs 2,000.
In order to replace the players on her fantasy team who did not participate in the actual game that day, the scammer then requested payment from the woman. She was then informed that she had lost money while playing for the team. Ten percent of her alleged earnings were demanded from her when she was informed that her team had won. Similarly, she was given suggestions for team selection and was requested to pay.
She used up all of her savings after making 89 online money transactions totalling Rs 14.22 lakh, but the scammers encouraged her to keep playing. For a number of reasons, she was required to make additional payments when she attempted to collect her earnings. She became concerned at this point and went to the Pune city cybercrime police station.
Users of fantasy sports websites have been tricked by cybercriminals who claim to be hacking the platforms to obtain winning combinations in a number of cyber frauds that have been reported from all over India in recent months. The strategy is quite similar to share trading frauds, when cybercriminals use the shortcomings of ignorant people and trick them into making many payments in order to profit.