Mumbai Cyber Fraud: 39-Year-Old Bhandup Homemaker Duped Of ₹6.25 Lakh In Instagram Gift Parcel Scam; Case Registered
· Free Press Journal
Mumbai, March 14: Cyber fraudsters allegedly cheated a 39-year-old homemaker from Bhandup of Rs 6.25 lakh by befriending her on Instagram and luring her with promises of expensive gifts and cash sent from the United Kingdom. The Bhandup police have registered a case against unidentified persons and initiated further investigation.
According to the FIR, the victim, Reshma Nagre, 39, lives with her family at Sai Hill on Tembhipada Road in Bhandup (West). About three years ago, she had created an account on the social media platform Instagram.
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Friend request leads to online contact
On March 4, 2026, Nagre received a friend request from an Instagram account named benedict.carlson. Two days later, she accepted the request and followed the account.
The same day, she received a message saying “Hi.” During the conversation, the person praised her family and asked about her residence. Nagre shared her details and asked about him.
The man claimed he was Chef Benedict Carlson, a resident of the United Kingdom. He told her that he had two brothers, his mother was a teacher and his father worked in architecture.
He also claimed that he had introduced Nagre to his mother as a sister living in India and said his mother would speak with her over a video call.
Promise of gifts and cash
Later, he asked about the birthdays of Nagre and her daughter, saying his mother wanted to send them gifts. Nagre initially declined the offer. However, the next day he again contacted her, saying he was shopping at a mall and asked what gift she would like. When she refused again, he insisted that exchanging gifts was common in his Christian community.
As he spoke to her like a brother, Nagre eventually shared her residential address and WhatsApp number. On March 8, the man informed her that he had sent gifts including a necklace, an expensive watch, a purse, perfumes and £80,000 in cash to India. He also shared a receipt bearing the name “World Logistics Courier Service.” After seeing the receipt, Nagre began to trust him.
Fraudsters demand money to release parcel
The following morning at around 9 am, Nagre received a call from a woman claiming that an international parcel had arrived in her name and that she needed to pay Rs 70,000 as charges. Initially, Nagre did not respond and deleted the number.
When she informed Carlson about the call, he insisted the woman was not a fraud and asked her to contact her again, saying the gifts he sent might have arrived.
Soon after, Nagre began receiving messages from international numbers claiming to be from the UK Customs Department. The messages stated that expensive gifts and cash in dollars had arrived for her and she needed to pay Rs 75,000 to release the parcel. Subsequently, citing various charges and reasons, the fraudsters allegedly collected a total of Rs 6.25 lakh from her.
Money transferred to multiple accounts
Police said Nagre transferred the money through money transfer services to bank accounts belonging to Prajyoy Tripura, Tajil Hussain and Ajit Kumar in Bank of Baroda, as well as to an account of Sunshine Traders in Punjab & Sind Bank by March 11.
Later, Nagre realised that she had been cheated and refused to send any further money. She then approached Bhandup police station and lodged a complaint.
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The police have registered a case against unknown persons under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act, and further investigation is underway.
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