Two 21-year-olds, one of them a law student, have been arrested for allegedly creating a website resembling that of an ed-tech company that holds online classes for students preparing for competitive exams and cheating at least one person with the false assurance of getting him a job as a teacher with the company.
The accused have been identified as Sougata Saha, 21, a resident of Jagaddal, and Shreyashi Chakraborty, 21, a resident of Noapara. Both places are in North 24-Parganas.
Saha is said to have told the police that he discontinued his studies after Class XII. Chakraborty is a second-year law student at a private university, the police said.
“We received a complaint that the victim has transferred Rs 69,000 to a bank account in four transactions as the registration fee for getting a job with the ed-tech company,” said an officer of the cybercrime cell at Lalbazar.
The complainant had seen advertisements for enrolment as a teacher with the company on multiple social media platforms.
He dialled the phone number mentioned in the advertisement and got in touch with “officials” who told him that a candidate must pay a processing fee of Rs 69,000 to get the job. He was also sent a “letter of confirmation”. The police said these letters were drafted by the woman.
After the payment was done, the alleged fraudsters snapped all connections with the victim.
Based on his complaint, the police started to track the bank account where the money had been transferred.
The two were arrested from their homes on Thursday. They have been remanded in police custody till May 18.
The duo had been arrested a year ago for allegedly cheating a number of people on the pretext of registering them to take part in a popular reality show, the police said.
A senior police officer said this was a “classic case of phishing” where advertisements have been posted on social media with the alleged intention to cheat people.
“One should approach a company only through their official website or app,” he said.