Delhi police bust fake Instagram iPhone selling gang, mastermind arrested

NEW DELHI: The Cyber Crime Police Station of Outer-North District, Delhi, received an online complaint in which the complainant stated that he had come across an Instagram account named “delhi_apple_store0” that claimed to sell Apple iPhones at discounted prices.

The complainant contacted the account via Instagram Messenger and, believing it to be genuine, booked an iPhone 16 Pro for Rs 100. Subsequently, the accused induced the complainant to make several additional payments on various pretexts, such as warranty, border tax, shipping, mail verification, and SIM activation, resulting in a total transfer of Rs 65,782 through 29 UPI transactions. After receiving the money, the accused stopped communicating and never delivered the phone.

A case was registered at the Cyber Police Station, Outer-North District. Technical analysis revealed that the Instagram handle “delhi_apple_store0” was created under the name Aman.

A dedicated team was formed. Through continuous technical surveillance and ground intelligence, the team traced the accused’s location to village Kalirawan, Hisar (Haryana). The team conducted a midnight raid and carried out extensive searches in fields and several houses. Despite difficult conditions and the accused’s attempts to evade arrest, the police team’s persistence and determination resulted in Aman’s arrest on 23.10.2025.

Two mobile phones, three debit cards, a suspicious calling device, and mobile numbers linked to the fake Instagram account were recovered from his possession.

During interrogation, it was revealed that Aman and his associates used to create fake Instagram pages and present themselves as Apple product resellers. They lured people by offering heavy discounts and gained their trust by showing fake customer chats and photos. Once a customer contacted them, they would send a UPI QR code for “booking” and later demand additional payments under various pretexts such as warranty, customs duty, or shipping charges.

The fraudulently obtained funds were routed through multiple bank accounts to conceal their original source. The gang primarily targeted young social media users searching for cheap gadgets. (ANI)