India, March 18 -- A 43-year-old property dealer from Sector-15, Faridabad, was duped of a whopping Rs.17 crore in an alleged investment fraud that spanned nearly seven and a half months, police said on Tuesday.

Investigators said the victim realised the fraud only when he attempted to withdraw his principal and profits amid falling stock markets due to the US-Iran war. He was unable to make withdrawals, and the suspects, who had posed as traders, became untraceable. He filed a complaint on March 11.

Officers said the victim had sold an acre of land along a national highway in August last year for around Rs.20 crore. Soon after, he received a WhatsApp message offering investment in stock markets and IPOs with high returns. "The cyber fr...