A Lucknow woman was allegedly cheated of ₹10.35 lakh after cybercriminals befriended her on Instagram, promised to send her an expensive gift from the United Kingdom and later demanded money under the pretext of customs charges and legal formalities.
According to her complaint filed with the Lucknow Cyber Crime police, the woman, identified as Niharika, received an Instagram friend request on August 16 from a person who introduced himself as “Chef Ryan Lucas”. After she accepted the request, the two began communicating regularly.
The man claimed to be living in the UK and eventually told Niharika that he wanted to send her a valuable gift parcel. The conversation was later moved to WhatsApp, where the accused allegedly gained her confidence and obtained her address and other personal details.
To make the story appear legitimate, the scammers reportedly sent her photographs of a parcel and claimed that it had reached India. Niharika was then contacted by another person who told her that the package contained foreign currency, jewellery, clothes and other expensive items.
The caller allegedly said that the parcel could not be delivered until customs charges and other official fees were paid. Believing the claims, Niharika transferred money to several bank accounts provided by the accused.
She told police that ₹5.85 lakh was transferred from her own account, while another ₹4.50 lakh was arranged from two friends. In total, she allegedly paid ₹10.35 lakh to the fraudsters.
The woman became suspicious when the accused demanded another ₹11 lakh. The scammers then allegedly changed tactics, with one of them posing as an FBI officer and sending her a fake identity card. They also threatened her with legal action in an attempt to pressure her into making further payments.
Realising that she had been targeted in a cyber fraud, Niharika contacted the 1930 cybercrime helpline and subsequently approached the Lucknow Cyber Crime police. An investigation into the case is underway.
