A 24-year-old man in Ahmedabad allegedly lost Rs 9.50 lakh in an online scam after responding to a sponsored Instagram advertisement offering an emotional conversation and meeting with a young woman.
Atharv Parolkar, originally from Madhya Pradesh and staying in a paying guest accommodation in Ahmedabad, has approached the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch against a man identified as Hukum Singh.
HOW THE SCAM STARTED
According to Atharv's complaint, he came across a sponsored Instagram advertisement on the night of July 25 that invited users to call a number to arrange a conversation and meeting with a woman living nearby.
He contacted Singh, who allegedly promised to arrange a meeting anywhere in Ahmedabad.
Singh initially asked Atharv to pay Rs 500 as a registration fee. After receiving the payment and its screenshot, Singh allegedly sent photographs of six women. Atharv selected one named Kajal and was given her mobile number.
He was then allegedly instructed to contact her after reaching a hotel.
Rs 14,000 PAID FOR THE MEETING
After Atharv reached the hotel, Kajal allegedly asked him to make a payment towards the meeting and hotel expenses.
Following Singh's instructions, Atharv transferred Rs 14,000, allegedly covering hotel charges, meeting fees, verification and medical expenses.
When the meeting did not take place and it became late, Atharv reportedly decided to cancel the arrangement. Singh allegedly assured him that his money would be refunded the next day.
Instead, further payments were allegedly demanded.
Rs 9.50 LAKH PAID UNDER DIFFERENT PRETEXTS
According to the complaint, Atharv eventually transferred Rs 9,50,092 to several bank accounts.
The payments were allegedly demanded as cancellation charges, service-renewal fees, refund-processing charges, banking expenses, GST and ITR-related payments.
Singh allegedly promised that the entire amount would be returned by August 3. When no refund arrived, Atharv realised that he had allegedly been deceived.
He subsequently approached the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch.
Police are investigating the mobile numbers and bank accounts involved in the transactions to determine who operated the alleged scam and whether other people were involved.
A useful next step in such a case is for investigators to trace the beneficiary bank accounts and payment trail first, as these can help establish the wider network behind the fraud.
