‘Read books, earn money’: 106 people allegedly lose Rs 1.25 crore in Kerala online scam

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: A major online fraud has been reported in Kerala, with scammers allegedly duping 106 people of around Rs 1.25 crore by promising them income for reading books online.

Victims have jointly approached the Vithura police station in Thiruvananthapuram district, alleging that they were cheated through a scheme operated through the NTL Task app.

According to the complaints, the accused circulated a link to the app through WhatsApp and encouraged people to join the scheme. Participants were also promised commissions for referring more people to the platform.

The scheme reportedly worked by first asking users to register through the link and then pay membership fees at different levels. Several people invested amounts ranging from Rs 1,800 to several lakhs to join the scheme.

After registration, users were assigned daily tasks involving reading e-books. They were allegedly promised Rs 25 for completing each book.

The accused also allegedly persuaded participants that they could earn substantially more through referral commissions by bringing additional people into the scheme.

However, there were restrictions on withdrawing the money. Participants were reportedly told that withdrawals could be made only on Wednesdays.

Some users initially received payments, which helped build confidence in the scheme. Later, payments reportedly stopped, and the app became non-functional, prompting victims to approach the police.

Most of those who allegedly fell victim to the scam are from Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts. Police said similar complaints have also been received from districts including Malappuram and Kozhikode.

The complainants have alleged that six people, including a person named Sanofer, a native of Tholicode in Thiruvananthapuram, were involved in the alleged fraud.

Police suspect that a larger network could be behind the operation. The officials are also examining a possible UK connection, as the accused allegedly used the name of a UK-based company to make the scheme appear legitimate.

Vithura police have registered an FIR and handed over the investigation to the cyber cell.

The cyber cell has also warned that similar task-based online scams are being operated in different parts of Kerala, targeting people with promises of easy earnings.