Noida: A 67-year-old woman from Sector 92 was allegedly duped of Rs 42.13 lakh after cyber fraudsters lured her into investing in a fake online trading scheme by promising unusually high returns.According to police, the woman was first contacted through an unknown WhatsApp number. After gaining her confidence over the next two days, the fraudsters added her to a WhatsApp group where members regularly shared stock market tips, trading advice and claims of hefty profits.Believing the investment opportunity to be genuine, she gradually transferred Rs 42.13 lakh into multiple bank accounts provided by the accused. She was assured that the investments would generate substantial returns. However, she neither received any profit nor was able to recover the money, after which the fraudsters became unreachable.The woman lodged complaints on the national cybercrime reporting portal (NCRP) on Feb 26 and March 6.Following a preliminary verification of the complaints and examination of banking transactions, the cyber crime police registered an FIR under Section 318(4) (cheating) of BNS and Section 66 of the IT Act.Police said they are tracing the bank accounts that received the money, besides analysing mobile numbers, digital trails and other technical evidence linked to the fraud. Investigators suspect the involvement of an organised cyber crime network and are working to identify those behind the racket.Cyber crime officials urged people to verify the authenticity of investment platforms and avoid unsolicited trading offers received through social media, messaging apps or phone calls. They also advised victims of cyber fraud to report incidents immediately through the 1930 helpline or the NCRP portal to improve the chances of freezing transactions and recovering funds.
