Ahmedabad youth duped of ₹10,500 in fake iPhone deal advertised on Instagram

Fraudster allegedly posed as mobile store representative, took payments through multiple online transactions

A 21-year-old man from Ahmedabad has lodged a cyber fraud complaint after allegedly being duped of ₹10,500 by an unidentified person who promised to deliver an iPhone 11 through an Instagram advertisement.

According to Anandnagar police, Harshit Jitendrakumar came across an Instagram advertisement offering an iPhone 11 for ₹10,500 and contacted the mobile number mentioned in the post.

Police said the complainant, who recently began working at a private company on Ambli Road and currently resides in the Anandnagar area, noticed the advertisement while browsing Instagram reels at his residence on May 13.

During a WhatsApp conversation, the accused allegedly introduced himself as a representative of an ‘iPhone store’ and asked the complainant to first pay ₹300 as a registration fee.

Believing the offer to be genuine, the complainant scanned a QR code sent by the accused and transferred the amount through Google Pay. The accused then allegedly demanded additional payments in stages, claiming the device booking process required further deposits.

Police said the complainant subsequently transferred ₹1,700, followed by several more transactions of ₹1,500 each, along with payments of ₹500 and ₹2,000, taking the total amount transferred to ₹10,500 from his bank accounts.

The complainant later became suspicious after noticing that the UPI ID linked to the transaction reflected the name ‘Ismail Khan Aiyubkhan Baloch’ instead of a registered mobile store.

Realising he had been cheated, the victim contacted the national cybercrime helpline 1930 and later approached Anandnagar Police Station to file a formal complaint.

Police have registered a case of cyber fraud and launched an investigation to trace the unidentified accused. Officials said the fraudster allegedly used a fake identity to lure the complainant into transferring money on the promise of delivering a discounted iPhone, but neither delivered the device nor refunded the amount.