08 August,2026 07:23 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
A case has been registered and an investigation is under way. No arrests have been made so far. Representational Pic/File
A 42-year-old man from Thane district in Maharashtra was allegedly cheated of more than Rs 20.31 lakh by cyber fraudsters who promised high returns through stock market investments, police said, reported the PTI.
A case has been registered and an investigation is under way. No arrests have been made so far.
According to the police, the victim came across a link promising lucrative returns from stock market investments. He reportedly clicked on the link after believing the scheme could help secure his children's educational future.
He was subsequently added to a WhatsApp group, where he was allegedly encouraged to invest through various platforms.
The victim was also asked to download an application as part of the investment process, police in Maharashtra's Thane said, the news agency reported.
The complainant and his wife allegedly transferred a total of Rs 20,31,047 through multiple transactions between May 15 and July 30.
The fraudsters had reportedly promised high returns on the investments.
However, the victim did not receive the promised profits or the money he had invested. He subsequently realised that he had allegedly been duped, as per the PTI.
The victim initially submitted an online complaint to the cyber cell before approaching the police station.
Following his complaint, police registered a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The police have launched an investigation to identify those allegedly involved in the fraud and trace the money transferred by the victim, the news agency reported.
No suspect has been arrested in connection with the case so far.
Meanwhile, Dahisar Police in Mumbai have arrested three people in two separate cyber fraud cases involving senior citizens, with investigators probing their alleged links to wider fraud networks.
The two cases involved different methods of cybercrime. In one, a 68-year-old Borivali resident allegedly lost nearly Rs 10 lakh after installing a malicious APK file sent by fraudsters posing as representatives of Mahanagar Gas Limited. In the second, a 71-year-old Dahisar woman allegedly lost Rs 4.5 lakh after being threatened with arrest in a fake money-laundering case, police said.
In the first case, police arrested Aryan Rajesh Gupta, 21, from Jogeshwari, and Ankit Sanjay Tiwari, 24, from Vasai.
According to the police, the victim, a 68-year-old resident of Borivali East, received a call on July 25 from a man who identified himself as Vinay Sharma and claimed to represent Mahanagar Gas Limited.
The caller allegedly told the senior citizen that his gas connection would be disconnected unless his bill details were updated.
The accused allegedly then sent an APK file to the victim's mobile phone, claiming it would help him update his gas bill. After the victim installed the application, the fraudsters allegedly gained unauthorised access to his phone and carried out financial transactions.
Police said around Rs 9.98 lakh was withdrawn from the victim's bank accounts.
During the investigation, officers allegedly traced Rs 3.49 lakh to a Canara Bank account linked to Gupta and another Rs 2 lakh to an ICICI Bank account allegedly linked to Tiwari.
In the second case, police arrested Dhirajkumar Kesaram Prajapati, 28, from Kamathipura.
The case involves a 71-year-old Dahisar woman who allegedly received calls between July 2 and 3 from people claiming to be senior police officials.
According to the police, one of the callers introduced himself as "Rajesh Mishra" and claimed that a money-laundering case had been registered against the woman.
The fraudsters allegedly threatened to arrest her and kept her under constant observation through WhatsApp video calls. They also allegedly obtained information about her bank accounts and balances.
Fearing arrest, the woman allegedly transferred the money.
(with PTI inputs)
