HYDERABAD: A 63-year-old PhD holder from IIT Madras lost Rs 3.08 lakh after falling prey to a fake job-offer racket while searching for a senior consultant role.

The victim, a KPHB resident, was contacted by an impersonator claiming to represent Jobslikes.com and offering senior-level openings in firms such as Siemens, Capgemini and Wipro.

On October 13, the scammer, identifying himself as Vikas Sharma, asked him to pay a lifetime registration fee of Rs 6,500. Two days later, an online interview was arranged with a man posing as a Siemens official; the presence of the company logo convinced the victim of its authenticity.

After he “cleared” the interview, he was asked to submit documents. Another person, posing as the HR head, then demanded money for verification, offer processing, GST, confirmation and other charges. Trusting the assurances, the victim transferred `3,08,761 in instalments.

When calls and emails went unanswered, he realised he had been cheated. Cyberabad cybercrime police registered a case and launched an investigation.

This Story is reported by Chithaluri Revanth of The New Indian Express.