Mumbai: Two men from Bengaluru arrested by Colaba police for allegedly defrauding a 31-year-old south Mumbai designer of Rs 2.9 lakh on the pretext of offering her an online job.

According to sources, the accused, identified as B K Suryaprakash Kemparaju, 24, and Ravikumar Ramaiyya, 26, were found in possession of mobile phones, rubber stamps, debit cards of different bank accounts, and cheque books.

The complainant, currently employed with a top home designing agency, had shown interest in working from home for extra income and signed up on various online platforms.

On May 30 at around 4.40 pm, she received a message from a person identifying as Meera Yadav, claiming to work in the human resource department of OPA Best Influencer International.

The woman was told that the company promotes celebrities and brands on social media to increase popularity and followers. She was added to a Telegram group named ‘OPA Influencer KS’ after visiting the company's website.

To establish trust, the fraudsters had her like an Instagram link and share a screenshot. She was instructed to invest money as directed in the Telegram group before receiving payment.

Following their instructions on May 31, she transferred Rs 2,000 to a UPI ID and received Rs 2,500 in return. This was to gain her trust.

In the first week of June, she transferred a total of Rs 2.9 lakh through multiple transactions for various assigned tasks. When she asked for her money back, she realized she had been deceived and filed a police complaint.

During the investigation, bank account details were scrutinized, revealing the fraud originated in Bengaluru. A team was dispatched to Bengaluru, apprehending Kemparaju and Ramaiyya, who later confessed to the crime.

The two were arrested, brought to Mumbai, and presented before the court. Authorities discovered they had employed similar tactics to dupe several individuals.

Police are exploring whether more individuals are involved in the fraudulent scheme.