Mumbai: A 23-year-old man, employed at a private company in Bhiwandi, was swindled out of Rs 71,000 under the pretext of charges for availing a loan that had supposedly been sanctioned in his name. Despite multiple attempts to obtain the sanctioned loan amount of Rs 3 lakh, the victim, who urgently needed the money, eventually realised he had been deceived. He then approached the Thane police to file a complaint. The scammer tricked the victim by sending bogus loan approval and agreement letters, leading him to pay charges to supposedly secure the loan.
The incident first unfolded in January and continued until September. It was only last month that the victim finally realised he had been duped and approached the authorities.
Fraudster claimed to be from finance company based in Bengaluru
According to the police, the victim received a message from an unknown number offering a Mudra loan. Subsequently, he received a call from a woman, claiming to represent a finance company based in Bengaluru, offering him a loan.
The victim inquired about the loan amount, interest, and monthly installments. The fraudster then requested the victim to share his Aadhaar card, ration card, voter card, and bank passbook details. Later, the victim was informed that a loan of Rs 3 lakh had been approved, and a stamped loan agreement was sent on the company's letterhead. The agreement stated a period of five years for Rs 3 lakh, with an additional 3 percent interest and monthly installments of Rs 5351.
Over time, the fraudsters coerced the victim into paying Rs 71,000 under the guise of insurance charges, processing fees, GST, bank charges, and NOC. The victim was provided a bank account number and instructed to transfer the money to that account. Despite several follow-ups, when the victim did not receive the loan amount, he confronted the scammer, who made excuses for delays and eventually switched off his mobile phone. Subsequently, the victim approached the police and registered a complaint.
The police have filed a case under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 463 (forgery), and of the Indian Penal Code, along with sections 66C (identity theft) and 66D (cheating by personation using a computer resource) of the Information Technology Act.
