Thane Man Loses Nearly ₹41 Lakh in Fake Online Trading Scam

Thane: A 48-year-old man from Thane has fallen prey to an online trading scam, losing almost ₹41 lakh after being lured with the promise of quick profits.

It all began when the man spotted an advertisement for trading on Facebook. Curious and hopeful, he clicked on it — and was soon added to a WhatsApp group where so-called “experts” guided him to invest in IPOs.

Trusting their words, he invested heavily between May and June this year, transferring a total of ₹40.99 lakh to multiple bank accounts. At first, everything looked promising — his online account even showed his money growing to over ₹88 lakh. But when he tried to withdraw his profits, the trouble began.

The scammers told him he would need to pay 20 percent of the total as tax before accessing his funds. It was then that the bitter truth sank in — he had been cheated.

The Vartak Nagar police have registered a case and begun investigations. Officials have once again urged people to be extremely cautious while investing online and to verify trading platforms thoroughly before transferring money.