In the digital era where personal information is increasingly vulnerable, Anupam Gupta, a chartered Accountant, author and podcast host, took to X, formerly Twitter, to share an alarming reality of identity theft and financial fraud that he has recently encountered with.
Gupta, in his post on X said that on March 13, said he received a CIBIL alert indicating a loan inquiry by Whizdm Finance, which he ignored at the time. Unknown to him, this laid the groundwork for a fraudulent loan of Rs 30,000 to be initiated in his name by Transactree, operating under the guise of @lendboxin.
As April dawned, he found himself besieged by relentless calls and WhatsApp messages from @MobiKwik's collection agents, adamantly demanding repayment for a loan he never procured.
Despite his protestations of innocence, Gupta faced unwavering insistence from the agents, exacerbating his distress.
Faced with mounting pressure and unwavering accusations, Gupta sought redressal from @MobiKwik. In his post, he wrote, "I raised the matter with Mobikwik and thankfully the calls stopped. Until they started again yesterday."
He further added, "They refuse to listen to me that I have not taken any such loan. They said, this loan was disbursed by UPI to 8303629319@nocash.mobikwik.com. I told them that's not my UPI ID. They said but my current mobile number and address is correct, therefore I have to repay."
"I said how can I repay if I've not taken a loan? They said I gave an OTP to the person who has taken the loan and I'd have to submit my bank statements to @MobiKwik to prove I have not taken received the amount," he added.
Frustrated and desperate for resolution, Gupta sought assistance from @MumbaiPolice, filing an online complaint after an attempt to report the matter in person was thwarted by a sudden disconnection during a phone call en route to Khar Police Station.
"Folks, please be careful. My mistake was that when I got the CIBIL notification I did not pay attention. I should have flagged it off then and there. But I didn't. And now I have to face these calls," he added to his post.
MobiKwik responds, acknowledges cyber fraud in Gupta's case
After Gupta's post went viral, MobiKwik issued a statement saying that Gupta was a victim of online fraud.
"India’s digital evolution has set benchmarks worldwide. The flip side has been a surge in online spams and cyber frauds. At MobiKwik, we have implemented stringent security measures to combat cyber frauds. We continue strengthening our security systems to align with our rapidly evolving product portfolio and fast transforming digital ecosystem," the company told the Free Press Journal in a statement. "In this particular incidence, the customer was a victim of online fraud. The response team reached out to the customer to understand and manage the issue. It was able to resolve the issue timely and to the customers satisfaction. This has been acknowledged by the customer as well."
Netizens' reaction
To Gupta's post, many netizens responded with similar incidents they have faced or come up with and queries related to.
An X user to Gupta's post responded, "This is happening a lot lately. In my case 3-4 micro finance firms have issues loans against my kyc documents without my approval. @Rbi needs you to write to the offending companies first before you can file a complaint so I am currently waiting for the mandatory 30 days to pass b4 I can file a complaint ..!"
"Whoa!!! This is horrible. How did you get the CIBIL notification," added the another user.
"What is to be done when you receive a Notification of CIBIL verification...? Kindly let all know, so that future fraud can be stopped," added the other user.
