Ahmedabad: An Isanpur resident, 53, on Thursday filed a complaint with the Cybercrime police alleging he was cheated of Rs 18 lakh in an online investment scam orchestrated through a fake trading platform. This case highlights the increasing sophistication of social engineering tactics used by cyber-criminals to exploit unsuspecting citizens.According to the complaint, the victim connected with a woman posing as “Jyoti Sharma” on Facebook in Sep 2025. She claimed to be a Mumbai-based designer affiliated with a UK firm and gradually persuaded him to venture into forex trading. To facilitate the scam, the victim was asked to share his personal documents and was subsequently granted access to a specialized trading app, which displayed fabricated profits to maintain the illusion of success.Gaining his trust by allowing a small initial withdrawal, the accused convinced him to transfer a total of Rs 17.98 lakh to multiple bank accounts. When he later attempted to withdraw larger funds, he was pressured to pay additional “taxes.” Suspecting a deeper fraud, he halted all payments. Police have now launched an investigation to trace the digital footprint of the culprits.
