Gurgaon: Four people have allegedly lost nearly Rs 1.2 crore in separate online investment frauds after being lured with promises of high returns through share market and trading schemes. The FIRs in all four cases have now been registered by the cybercrime police, which are investigating the transactions and tracing the bank accounts and mobile numbers linked to the alleged fraudsters.The biggest loss was reported by a Sector 58 resident, who alleged that he lost around Rs 71 lakh between Jan and July this year. According to his complaint, the accused initially persuaded him to invest Rs 22,500 and subsequently sought Rs 50,000, Rs 1.5 lakh and other amounts on different pretexts. They promised substantial returns and commissions on his investments. When he later sought to withdraw the money, the accused failed to provide a satisfactory response.In another case, a Sector 12 resident alleged that he lost Rs 19.50 lakh between June 16 and Aug 6, 2025, after being added to a WhatsApp group where investment-related information and promises of high returns were shared. Acting on the instructions of the accused, he transferred the money from his ICICI Bank account to several bank accounts. The accused stopped responding to his calls and messages after receiving the money. The victim had earlier reported the matter on the national cybercrime portal. Police managed to get around Rs 8.50 lakh frozen in different bank accounts.In the third case, a complainant alleged that he lost Rs 13 lakh between Jan 30 and Feb 2, 2024, in an online trading scheme. The accused allegedly persuaded him to invest and directed him to transfer Rs 12.50 lakh and another Rs 50,000 to different bank accounts.A fourth complaint was filed by a Sector 58 woman, who alleged that she lost Rs 11.76 lakh after being approached through Telegram. The accused lured her with promises of profits from online trading and persuaded her to transfer money.Police said investigations were underway in all four cases. Officials advised people against trusting investment offers circulated through unknown WhatsApp or Telegram groups and urged them to verify the credentials of investment platforms before transferring money. They also advised victims of cyber fraud to immediately call 1930 and report the incident on the national cyber crime reporting portal.
