FPJ Cyber Secure: Lured with free iPhone, Mumbai woman loses ₹2.91 lakh

Mumbai: An Agripada resident was duped of ₹2.91 lakh with the lure of an iPhone as a free gift after she liked a video on Instagram. Surpiya Ghadi, 37, came across an Insta handle named Zam-Zam (Dubai) that had several videos on it. After liking one, she received a link on WhatsApp from the eponymous website, with a message of a free iPhone 14 Pro as a gift for which she had to buy a coupon worth ₹3,000. Ghadi paid through GPay, following which she received a photo of the coupon on WhatsApp. The day, when Ghadi was at her office, she received a call asking her to resend the coupon's photo, which will further make her eligible for an iPhone, an Apple watch, and a headphone. Lured by such expensive gifts, she did as asked. However, to receive them in a courier, she had to pay ₹25,000 to which she agreed.

After some time, Ghadi received another call and the purported executive asked her to register the iPhone in her name. For speedy delivery and registration, she was asked to pay ₹35,000, followed by another call asking her to pay ₹60,000 more for "free" gifts.

The next day, the caller told Ghadi that she has been offered $6,000 by Zam-Zam, which is ₹6 lakh in Indian currency and she needs to pay "only ₹80,000" for it. Not seeing it as a warning, Ghadi paid that too and lost ₹2.91 lakh in total without receiving anything.

On realising that she had been cheated, Ghadi lodged a complaint with the Agripada police, who have started the investigation by registering a case under various sections of cheating and forgery of the Indian Penal Code and the IT Act.