India, July 31 -- A young working professional was nearly conned of a few thousand rupees on Instagram after she received a message that required "urgent" attention from a close friend.

Except that the message was NOT from her friend.

The victim, who recently stepped out of college into the workforce, assuming that the real world is inherently safe, wasn't prepared for what followed.

It was a Saturday evening, and I was scrolling through my feed when my phone buzzed with an Instagram message from a close friend: "Listen, it's urgent. Please send me Rs.6,000. I will return it by evening."

When the text popped up from her handle, for a few seconds, I didn't question it. Why would I? It was someone I knew.

My immediate instinct was: "It...