Panaji : People in Goa continue to fall prey to online frauds as cybercriminals have duped four people in different cases, which led to the loss of a total amount of over Rs 2.98 crore.
Two cases of digital arrests were reported in which a woman from Bicholim lost Rs 1.42 crore to the scam, while a 66-year-old retired employee from Margao lost Rs 87 lakh.
The third case pertains to ‘task-based work from home’ where a 28-year-old businessman from Vasco lost over Rs 42 lakh, while in the fourth case, a 62-year-old businesswoman from Margao lost over Rs 26 lakh to the online trading scam.
The cybercrime police station based in Ribandar on Wednesday has registered four FIRs, and is investigating the cases.
Referring to the one of the digital arrest cases, the police said the accused through WhatsApp impersonated officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Supreme Court of India. They terrified the complainant by alleging her involvement in a case of money laundering and illicit trade of diamonds and gold in conspiracy with a criminal.
The accused subjected her to ‘digital arrest’ and within 10 days –December 15 to 26 2025 – coerced her into settling the alleged case by transferring Rs 1,42,04,868 into multiple accounts.
In the other digital arrest case, which also occurred in December 2025, unknown accused persons through a WhatsApp call impersonated CID officers. The accused told the complainant that a SIM card issued in his name and Aadhaar card is linked with a money laundering case. Hence the complainant was placed under ‘house arrest’, the police said referring to the complaint.
Furthermore the accused coerced the complainant into settling the alleged case by transferring Rs 87 lakh through RTGS transaction.
In the third case of an online scam, the accused contacted the complainant through WhatsApp and social media. They impersonated employees of ‘Public Media Solutions’ and introduced the complainant to work-from-home job under the name ‘Public Media Solution’.
The accused explained that the job involved rating movies and submitting tickets, with assured bonuses and was provided a website link https://www.plexflim-movie.com along with an invitation code ‘2HYWL3’.
The fraud victim was instructed to register and perform tasks. Believing it to be genuine, the complainant followed the instructions and transferred Rs 42,86,697 from his bank accounts.
The accused induced the complainant to make multiple transactions under the false promise with high returns and cheated him on the pretext of offering an online work-from-home, the police said.
The police said that in the fourth case pertaining to trading scam, the accused contacted the complainant through multiple WhatsApp numbers and invited to join an ‘AK6-Financial Think Tank Study’ Group. The accused instructed her to download their Apk to become institutional member. Believing it to be genuine, the complainant registered and started trading, the police said, adding that between October 28, 2025 and December 23, 2025, she transferred Rs 26,30,847 through RTGS/UPI from multiple bank accounts.
The police said that when she tried to withdraw the profits, she was asked to pay a ‘commission’ of 25 per cent on total amount first. Subsequently the complainant found out that the platform was fake.
