Chennai, Jul 14 (IANS): A total of 696 complaints of online job fraud cases have been lodged in Tamil Nadu's Vellore district so far this year, prompting authorities to come up with strategies to counter the growing menace.

According to authorities of the cyber crime wing in Vellore, victims have lost a whopping Rs 4 crore as a result of these scams.

Investigations have revealed that the scamsters are posing as bank representatives and they are luring the gullible youth in the pretext of providing them part-time jobs.

The cyber criminals also manage to get the credit or debit card information of the victims.

The gangs, who are mostly based in Delhi and Bihar, contact the youth via WhatsApp, Telegram and other social media handles.

The fraudsters then transfer the money to foreign accounts and also purchase gift cards, which makes them elusive and difficult for the authorities to track.

Despite of the challenges, the authorities have managed to recover Rs 3.45 crore.

In 2021, the number of complaints registered was 526, but last year, the figure shot up to 1,253 complaints.

In both the years, authorities had recovered Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 3.5 crore, respectively.

Victims range from 20 years to 40 years in age.