Hyderabad, Oct. 8 -- An IT professional was duped for Rs 54.67 lakh in a fake online task promising commission for rating the brands.

The victim, an employee of HCL residing in Praneeth Colony, Balanagar, received a link message on Telegram, offering easy money by rating certain products.

The victim invested Rs 5,000 on the online platform, earning an initial profit Rs 12,500.

Later, the IT employee invested Rs 59,800 into the platform and continued to invest over the next few days, depositing a total of Rs 7.14 lakh through multiple transactions.

When the victim tried to withdraw the money, the fraudsters said they should deposit Rs 5 lakh to improve credit score or invest Rs 6 lakh to open a VIP channel. They demanded Rs 12.5 lakh a...