Online scams reach remote villages of Sudurpaschim

Pyramid-style online scams trick villagers into investing their savings with promises of quick profits, only to vanish with the money.

Suman Upadhyaya, a resident of ward 4 of Jayaprithvi Municipality in Bajhang, received a message from a friend on Facebook Messenger in September last year. The message contained a link. Shortly afterwards, the friend called him and said, “If you fill in the form provided in the link with your email address, phone number and eSewa or Khalti ID for payment, and deposit Rs2,000, you will start earning money regularly by liking advertisements of the listed products.”