LUCKNOW, May 17 -- Five investors were collectively duped of Rs.3.7 crore by fraudsters who lured them through fake social media advertisements promising high returns on share trading, in the state capital.

A case was registered at the cyber crime police station, and efforts are underway to freeze the bank accounts used in the scam.

According to inspector Brijesh Yadav, in-charge of the cyber crime police station, the fraudsters used fabricated advertisements on platforms like Facebook to gain the victims' trust. After attracting attention through these ads, they continued communication over WhatsApp and Telegram, posing as representatives of a SEBI-registered brokerage firm.

One of the victims, Avneesh Singh, a businessman from Hariha...