Online fraud: People duped by man selling iPhones on Instagram

A 23-year-old man was arrested by the Delhi Police from Kolkata for allegedly duping a person via social media on the pretext of selling an Apple iPhone to him, official said on Saturday. The accused, Vishal Kumar Sekhsariya, is a resident of Kolkata, they added. Police received a complaint regarding online fraud where a man was selling Apple iPhones on Instagram. The complainant alleged that iPhones were being offered for a price that is cheaper than the market rate through a fake Instagram account and the accused cheated the victim of ₹48,000 via the digital payment method.

During investigation, the bank account statement of the complainant, the details of the Instagram account and the email addresses through which it was verified were obtained, a senior police officer said.

Subsequently, police got the mobile phone numbers through which the e-mails were being operated and a few IP addresses, the officer said.

On the basis of technical evidence, a police team zeroed in on Sekhsariya, Instagram account holder. A raid was conducted in coordination with the local police on Wednesday and the accused was apprehended from his Kolkata residence, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) Sanjay Kumar Sain said.

The accused was brought to Delhi and interrogated. He revealed that he is a final-year college student and was working as a member of an event management team for television shows, the DCP said.

The accused, along with one of his associates, used to cheat people on the pretext of selling iPhones to them. Efforts are on to apprehend his associate, police said, adding that one iPhone 12 was recovered from the possession of the accused. PTI NIT RC