New Delhi, Oct. 19 -- More than 20 residents of Visakhapatnam have allegedly lost a combined Rs.1 crore in a month to an online scam that began with offers of money for posting Google reviews and escalated into demands for larger investments. The incident highlights how fraudsters use small initial payouts to build trust before persuading victims to transfer substantial sums of money.

According to a report by The Times of India, individual victims reportedly lost between Rs.2 lakh and Rs.9 lakh. In one case, a 38-year-old resident was allegedly cheated of more than Rs.10 lakh after being approached through Telegram with offers to earn money by completing simple online tasks.

The complainant reportedly received a Telegram message offerin...