An FIR was registered last week at the Kopar Khairane police station in Navi Mumbai and a probe is on to find the accused.

The complainant told the police she is a homemaker, and stays with her husband and two children.

On July 1, while she was looking at photographs on her Instagram profile, she came across an advertisement which read, “GET RICH at home by online earn money”. She clicked a link which accompanied the post, and a page with the name “INDIA TODAY” opened. After clicking on the second page, she received a WhatsApp message from a person named “Rileytayor”, who inquired about her personal details and asked if she was interested in investing in a big company.

After expressing interest, the fraudster sent her the number of a woman, the second accused, who asked her to make a payment of Rs 200 for registration. After registration, the accused sent her a fake ID to convince her she was working for the conglomerate. She then made her download an application, in the name of the company, to make investments. The complainant was promised hefty returns on her investments within a fortnight. The complainant saw the application and chose a few projects in which she wanted to invest.

The complainant was so impressed by the fraudster’s talk that she took money from her family and friends to invest in the company. She transferred a total of Rs 4 lakh into different e-wallet accounts thinking she made investments in different projects of the company.

A fortnight later, the woman did not get her money back and contacted the accused, who yelled at her and switched off her phone. This is when the complainant realised she had been duped, and approached the local police.