Lucknow: A city woman was allegedly duped of ₹10.35 lakh in a cyber fraud in which scammers befriended her on Instagram, promised an expensive gift parcel from the United Kingdom and then demanded money in the name of customs clearance and legal formalities.According to a complaint filed with the Lucknow Cyber Crime police, the woman, identified as Niharika, received an Instagram friend request on Aug 16, 2026, from a person calling himself “Chef Ryan Lucas”. After she accepted, the two began chatting, and the man claimed he was based in the UK. He allegedly offered to send her a costly gift parcel.Police said the accused later shifted communication to WhatsApp, where he gained her trust and collected her address and other personal details. He also allegedly shared photos of a purported parcel to make the delivery story appear genuine.Soon after, Niharika began receiving calls from another number. The caller claimed a parcel containing foreign currency, jewellery, clothes and other valuable items had arrived and could be delivered only after payment of customs charges. Believing the claims, she transferred funds to multiple bank accounts provided by the callers.In her complaint, she stated she paid ₹5.85 lakh from her own account and arranged ₹4.50 lakh from two friends, taking the total to ₹10.35 lakh. Her suspicion grew when the fraudsters demanded another ₹11 lakh.The complaint said the accused then posed as an FBI officer, sent a fake identity card and threatened legal action. Niharika reported the matter to the 1930 cybercrime helpline and later approached the Cyber Crime police.
