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 Harihar Nagar in Indiranagar, came across a share trading ad on Facebook in March. He was contacted by a woman identifying herself as "Shruti," claiming to represent Ashika Stock Broking - a registered firm. Between March and April, Avneesh transferred a total of Rs.1.85 crore into various accounts suggested by the fraudsters. In another case, Deenbandhu Pal, a resident of Ahilyabai Nagar in Kalyanpur, Gudamba, was defrauded of Rs.1.43 crore between March 18 and April 21. Similarly, two individuals were duped of a combined Rs.42 lakh through investment scams involving fake trading platforms in Lucknow. Both cases were registered on May 14 at the cyber crime police station in the city. Approached on social media and persuaded by individuals claiming to be programmers and customer support executives, he was lured into investing $11,000 (Rs.9.6 lakh). Promised huge returns, he continued investing but each withdrawal attempt was blocked with demands for extra charges," said SHO cyber-crime police station Brijesh Yadav. HTC...