Thane man loses Rs 82 lakh in share investment fraud

Thane (PTI): A 62-year-old man from Maharashtra's Thane city has allegedly been cheated of Rs 82.13 lakh in an investment fraud after being promised high returns, police said on Tuesday.

The victim came across a Facebook advertisement on September 26, 2025, promising high returns on share market investments. When he clicked on it, he was redirected to a WhatsApp group named after a leading finance and investment company.

He was then asked to download a trading application and persuaded to make investments.

Between January 10 and 30 this year, the victim transferred Rs 82.13 lakh to various bank accounts and he was shown 'profits' totalling Rs 1.51 crore, an official from Kasarvadavali police station said.

However, on February 2, his request to withdraw the profits was repeatedly rejected and the fraudsters demanded an additional Rs 42.46 lakh to process the payment.

The victim then contacted the finance company, which confirmed that it had no affiliation with the WhatsApp group or the trading app, the official said.

Based on the victim's complaint, the police registered a case on Sunday against two individuals and some websites and applications under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.