Noida: Two residents, one from Noida and the other from Greater Noida West, lost a combined Rs 54 lakh to separate cyber scams after they were lured into making fake stock market investments through WhatsApp in exchange for lucrative returns.According to police, the accused promised lucrative returns on investments, displayed fabricated profits on a bogus trading platform and encouraged the victims to transfer increasing amounts of money. The frauds came to light only when the victims attempted to withdraw their funds and found that no money could be recovered.Rajesh, an employee of a private company, was contacted by two women on WhatsApp a year ago. They posed as representatives of TCS Capital Group and claimed their advice on stock market investments would generate high profits for him.Rajesh was asked to download a mobile application and initially encouraged to make small investments. They allegedly transferred modest profits to his bank account in the early stages to gain his confidence. Believing the investment scheme to be genuine, the complainant continued investing and transferred nearly Rs 33 lakh by Aug 8, 2025.When he later tried to withdraw both his investment and the accumulated profits, the fraudsters demanded additional payments in the name of taxes and warned that his account would be frozen if he failed to comply. After he refused to make further payments, they stopped all communication with him.In a similar case, an elderly homemaker from Greater Noida West was contacted through WhatsApp on June 9, 2025. She was added to a stock investment group and persuaded to download a trading application. Lured by promises of substantial profits, she transferred nearly Rs 21 lakh. When she attempted to withdraw the amount, the fraudsters stopped responding to her calls.Both victims lodged complaints on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) as well as with the Cyber Crime police station.A senior police officer said separate cases have been registered and an investigation is under way. Police are tracing the bank accounts used in the transactions, analysing the money trail and collecting details of the digital platforms involved. Officials said efforts are being made to identify and arrest the accused at the earliest.Police have advised citizens to verify the authenticity of investment platforms and avoid transferring money based solely on unsolicited WhatsApp messages or promises of unusually high returns.
