Vizag: Saisurekha49 on Instagram duped 150 persons, used popular influencer as bait

Hyderabad: The sleuths of cybercrime, Rachakonda, arrested a 28-year-old woman who cheated 150 people after she managed to convince a popular influencer to advertise her ‘products’ on the latter’s Instagram page and YouTube.

The accused, a resident of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, owned an Instagram page called Saisurekha49, which she used to run a fake business selling sarees and blouses. A special team, along with a women officer, went to Vishakhapatnam, and on July 5 apprehended the accused at her home.

Modus Operandi

The accused, who couldn’t get online traction through her Instagram page Saisurekha49, contacted a popular Instagram influencer. She claimed that she is a widow and convinced the influencer to advertise her products on the latter’s socials. Since the influencer’s page is popular, as many as 150 persons, ordered the accused products after seeing her promotion.

One of the persons who saw the advertisement ordered a product worth Rs 3,900 but did not receive it. She then sent a message to the influencer enquiring about her product. The admin of the page said they don't know anything about the accused and promoted her page only on humanitarian grounds.

Understanding that she has been cheated, the customer lodged a complaint with the police. Based on the complaint, Rachakonda cybercrime teams started investigating.

“As she did not receive much response from the buyers, she found a popular social media influencer on Instagram and contacted them to promote her business on Instagram and YouTube. She sought sympathy from the influencer by claiming she is a widow. Trusting her words, they promoted her page on YouTube and Instagram,” said A Narasimha Swamy, inspector of police.

The teams collected evidence from the social media pages concerned and found that the accused is based out of Yellapuvanipalem area in Vishakhapatnam. She was arrested soon after. Afterward, she was produced before a local court and brought to Hyderabad on a transit warrant. The accused has been sent to judicial remand.

The cybercrime police advised netizens not to believe social media promotions blindly. For reporting cybercrime please contact helpline number 1930 or register the case on www.cybercrime.gov.in.