Instagram Ad Promising Friendship Leads to Rs 9.5 Lakh Fraud in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: A flashy Instagram advertisement promising friendship and a hotel meeting with a young woman allegedly led a 24-year-old man from Madhya Pradesh, who lives in the city, to lose Rs 9.5 lakh in a cyber fraud.

According to a complaint filed with the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch on Saturday, the victim, who lives in a paying guest accommodation in Paldi, came across a sponsored Instagram advertisement offering friendship services. He contacted the mobile number provided in the advertisement, following which a caller identifying himself as Hukam Singh collected Rs 500 as a registration fee and sent photographs of several women.

After the victim selected one of the profiles, he was asked to visit a hotel to meet the woman. On reaching the hotel, he was allegedly asked to pay Rs 14,000 towards meeting and hotel charges. However, when the meeting was repeatedly delayed, he decided to cancel the booking. The accused then assured him that the amount would be refunded the following morning.

Over the next few days, the fraudsters allegedly continued demanding money, citing cancellation charges, service renewal fees, refund processing costs, banking verification and other reasons. Believing that one more payment would trigger the refund, the victim transferred a total of Rs 9.5 lakh to multiple bank accounts and UPI IDs before realising that he had been duped. DeshGujrat