In a first, a UP woman was allegedly duped of around Rs 2 lakh by three Instagram 'brothers'.
The cyber fraudsters befriended the woman and convinced her to consider them as her brothers. Then the ‘brothers’ promised her expensive wedding gifts and trapped her in a fraudulent scheme.
The victim, a resident of Indiranagar, Lucknow, told the police that on April 22, she came across three men on Instagram named Ravi Kumar, Rana Pratap Singh, and Manoj.
The men gained her trust and convinced her to consider them as her brothers.
“After days of communication, Ravi Kumar contacted the woman via phone and assured her that they would provide expensive wedding items for her. For this, they requested her Aadhar card, photos, and other documents for shipping purposes,” as per her complaint.
Later, Manoj contacted her to inform that the shipment had been seized at the airport. He claimed that to release the package, she needed to pay a certain amount of money. Initially, she refused, but he threatened her by stating that if she did not comply, he would involve the CBI, Crime Branch, or Income Tax officers, and get her arrested," she said in her complaint.
She succumbed to pressure and transferred Rs 1.94 lakh online through a QR code.
Police has lodged an FIR, and investigations are underway.