Vadodara: A 32-year-old resident of Dudelav village in Vadodara district allegedly lost Rs 27.24 lakh after responding to a WhatsApp message offering work-from-home employment with daily earnings of up to Rs 5,600.According to Vadodara Rural Police, the victim, Avinash Ramanbhai Solanki, received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number on June 26, 2025, offering three to four hours of work a day for earnings of Rs 2,400 to Rs 5,600. After he responded, a person identifying herself as Priyanka Mohan contacted him on WhatsApp and sent him a link.Police said the link prompted Solanki to download an application identified in his complaint as “Rent”. He was asked to enter his mobile number and bank details before being assigned tasks for which he had to deposit varying amounts of money.The fraudsters initially gained his confidence by returning money after he completed some tasks. They later offered him larger and more lucrative tasks and allegedly persuaded him to transfer increasingly higher amounts to different bank accounts. Eventually, Solanki transferred a total of Rs 27,24,036, but the promised returns were not paid, police said.Waghodia police registered a case on September 4, 2026, although the alleged fraud took place between June 26 and July 7, 2025.Police said the delay in registering the FIR was because Solanki had initially reported the matter to the cybercrime helpline 1930. The complaint was investigated and, after the fraud was established, the FIR was registered.Police have named two suspects in the complaint — Priyanka Mohan, whose full name and address are not known, and another person identified as “Hidaya Kari”, whose details were also traced only through a mobile number.
