Police in India broke up a cyber fraud ring and arrested two Nigerians who they say tricked women with 73 fake Instagram profiles.
Rawlings Oshuor, who is 29 years old, and Yao Theopile, who is 28 years old, were caught in Delhi over the weekend by cybercrime detectives from Vadadora, Gujarat.
During questioning, the two said that they had tricked a lot of people all over India.
"We took their cell phones and checked what was on them. They had made 73 different Instagram accounts to trick people, especially women. "It's interesting that all of the account names began with Alex," said ACP Hardik Makadia.
The police said that they used to download photos and videos of a good-looking man named Alex and post them on the fake Instagram accounts.
"From these fake IDs, they send friend requests to women and get to know them. "Many people who don't know better look at the photos on these Instagram accounts and think they are real," Makadia told TOI.
The accused then tells the victims sad stories about his family or says that his wife has died.
When the accused and the victim get close emotionally, the next step is for the accused to talk about gifts.