Cyber miscreants have duped 60 students from various engineering departments of a private university in the Ahmedabad city. The students were lured into a net by offering the post of trainee engineer in a reputed power generation company.
Students of various engineering courses including Electronics Communications, Chemicals, Computer, Mechanical, Information, Communication Technology and Civil fell prey to this elaborate scam. The cyber crooks cunningly targeted them, making off with a total of Rs 75,000.
Students said the fraudulent scheme was uncovered when the miscreants messaged a professor at LJ University about a job opportunity. The professor forwarded the message to numerous students and unwittingly set the wheels in motion for the fraud, the students said.
The university on Wednesday submitted a petition to file an FIR before the cyber crime police. It read: “We are reporting this incident on behalf of LJ Institute of Engineering and Technology, LJ University in Sarkhez. On 21st June 2023, between 5 to 6 PM, we received a WhatsApp message from a recruitment website. they demanded a fee of Rs 1,250 from each candidate. Some students filled the form and made payment through QR code. After that, we realized that this is a fraudulent scheme. Kevin Desai, a student of Electronics Communication, shared his experience.
After receiving the WA message from my professor, I checked the website, which appeared to belong to a prominent group. For Trainee Engineers per month Rs. Believing in the promise of an attractive package of 65,000, I unhesitatingly paid Rs.1,250 paid.
The message also clarified that if the candidate is not selected, they will get a refund. My fellow students and I believed it and paid the fee. However, doubts arose as we did not receive any support email from the power generation company,” revealed Kevin Desai, a student of Electronics Communication.
When none of the defrauded students received confirmation emails, they sought answers from professors who had shared the original message. Eventually, the university intervened and got in touch with the cyber crime police to deal with the situation.
Cyber miscreants have cheated almost the entire class of students. police are investigating the case to expose financial transactions and bring the culprits to justice,” the officer said.