Bengaluru woman loses ₹5.9 lakh to fake Instagram astrologer scam leading to police case
Summary
A Bengaluru woman lost Rs 6 lakh after falling victim to a fake Instagram astrologer. She first contacted the Instagram profile 'splno1indianastrologer' on January 5, run by Vijay Kumar, who claimed to be an astrologer. Kumar convinced her to pay for multiple pujas to resolve astrological issues affecting her love marriage, with the total amount paid reaching Rs 5.9 lakh. When she realized she was being scammed and demanded a refund, Kumar only returned Rs 13,000 and threatened to commit suicide if pressed further. A man named Prashant, claiming to be an advocate, also called her to reinforce the threats. The police registered a case under the Information Technology Act and BNS Section 318 against Kumar and his accomplices.
Incident Details
Sources
1This incident is documented by a single source. Source count reflects coverage in our monitored feeds, not the totality of reporting, and we do not evaluate publication quality.