LUCKNOW, May 16 -- Cyber fraudsters allegedly targeted a Lucknow-based Instagram page with over 1.5 million followers by using fake copyright strikes to extort money from its administrator, threatening to get the account suspended.

The case was reported on Friday at Sushant Golf City police station, where an FIR was registered and police launched an investigation into what appears to be a new form of cyber extortion targeting high-reach social media accounts, officials said.

According to the complainant, Jatin Shukla, administrator of the finance content page "@indianfinance.in", unidentified persons filed false copyright claims against the account using fake email IDs. The complaints led Instagram to remove some content and issue two c...