the accused identified as Daniel sent a friend request to the woman on Instagram in November and later the two exchanged mobile numbers. | Photo Credit: Representative Image

Key Highlights Bengaluru woman cheated of Rs 11 lakh by her Instagram 'friend' Accused claimed he was sending the woman jewellery from London The woman was duped in a span of 10 days between Nov 25 and December 4

Bengaluru: Despite strengthening cybersecurity laws, there seems to be no end to online fraud. In the latest case, a woman from Bengaluru was duped of Rs 11 lakh by a man claiming to be her friend from London.

The accused befriended the businessman's wife on the social media platform Instagram. The man, who claimed to be from London, cheated the Bharatinagar resident in a span of 10 days between November 25 and December 4.

According to a report in Times of India, the accused identified as Daniel sent a friend request to the woman on Instagram in November and later the two exchanged mobile numbers.

After some time, Daniel told the woman that he is sending her a jewellery gift worth 62,000 pounds (approximately Rs 58 lakh) through a delivery company.

"Two days later I got a call from a man claiming to be a customs official from Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi telling me about the arrival of the gift box. The so-called official asked me to deposit Rs 55,000 to get the delivery of the box. I transferred amount and received an acknowledgement with sign and seal of the customs department," the report quoted the victim as saying.

Daniel called the woman the next day, again telling her to deposit Rs 2.25 lakh towards other charges and she obliged.

Then another man called the victim the next day informing her that the box weighs 17 kilograms and she should pay Rs 5.5 lakh for customs clearance. The woman again transferred the money from her husband's account.

After some days, the victim was again called and asked to pay Rs 12 lakh to receive the gift box through a courier. It was after this the woman and her family realised that they were cheated.