Thane: A 23-year-old resident of Kalwa was allegedly cheated of Rs 37.3 lakh by cyber fraudsters who lured him with promises of high returns through a bogus stock trading scheme.According to police, the victim, employed in the private sector, was added to a WhatsApp group named ‘Victory Vanguards 2 Team’, where he was introduced to a fraudulent investment platform posing as a professional equity advisory service. The accused, using the name Aditya Sharma, allegedly guided the victim to invest money through a website over nearly two months starting Feb 2026.Police said the fraudsters used fake profit dashboards and constant persuasion to convince the victim that his investment was yielding substantial returns. Suspicion arose only when he tried to withdraw funds and found the platform inaccessible, a police officer said. Following a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, Kalwa police registered an FIR under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for cheating, along with Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.Officials said efforts are under way to trace the accused through mobile numbers and digital transactions linked to the case. No arrests have been made so far.
