Mumbai: A 66-year-old man from Thane lost Rs 47 lakh to a share investment scam after falling for a fraudulent Facebook ad. The scammers added him to a WhatsApp group, convinced him to download a fake trading app, and induced him to transfer money between December 26 and February 6.

On February 10, the complainant saw his supposed profits multiply but couldn’t withdraw funds. After failed attempts to contact the scammers, he realised the fraud and filed a police complaint on Wednesday.

The complainant has provided details of the WhatsApp group floated by the scammers, including their contact details, bogus trading app details, and transaction details, to the police.

In the matter, a case has been registered under sections 66C (identity theft) and 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resources) of the Information Technology Act.