A school teacher from Vadodara district has allegedly been cheated of ₹12.52 lakh after responding to an Instagram advertisement that promised a teaching job in the United Kingdom. Police said the accused allegedly posed as representatives of a fake immigration agency and collected money in multiple instalments for processing fees, appointment formalities and visa-related charges.
Instagram Advertisement Led to Contact
According to police, Nafisaben, a resident of Attandhu village in Karjan taluka and a teacher at a school in Sansrod, filed a complaint stating that she came across an Instagram advertisement posted by an account named Fasttrack Immigration on January 15, 2026. The advertisement claimed to offer recruitment opportunities for several positions, including teaching jobs in the UK.
After responding to the advertisement, the complainant was allegedly given a UK mobile number and asked to continue communication through that channel. She later received a link containing job-related details and submitted the initial information requested. Police said she initially refused to share some personal documents but later provided them after being assured that the agency was based in the UK and that the process was genuine.
Payments Sought for Processing and Visa Formalities
Police alleged that a man identified as Mohammad Irfan later demanded an urgent processing fee of 1,000 pounds, approximately ₹1.27 lakh, and shared the bank account details of Vadodara resident Ansh Qureshi for payment. When the complainant questioned why the money was being sent to a local account, she was allegedly told that an international transfer would attract additional charges and that payment to a domestic account would also generate a receipt.
Investigators said the complainant transferred the amount to the account provided. She was later allegedly interviewed online and received a purported appointment letter offering her a teaching position at a school in Norwich, United Kingdom, with an annual salary of about ₹51.60 lakh.
Police Examine Digital Trail
The complaint alleges that the teacher paid a total of ₹12.52 lakh in multiple instalments towards document verification, recruitment processing and other formalities. She later received an email asking her to pay an additional 4,000 pounds to obtain her visa. When she sought clarification on the total amount required, she was allegedly told that her bank balance was insufficient to complete the process.
After realising that she had allegedly been defrauded, the teacher reported the matter through the national cybercrime helpline. Police have registered a case and are examining bank accounts, digital communications, financial transactions and the possible role of a wider online job fraud network.
