A man was allegedly duped of Rs4.61 lakh by four con men, who posed as executives of a finance company and offered him a loan of Rs5 lakh. Police said that the suspects fooled him by asking him to deposit fees for miscellaneous charges for the approval of his loan. The man ended up paying Rs4.61 lakh before realising he had been duped.
According to the police, the incident took place when the victim, a resident of Amanpura, Sector 5, received a phone call from a man, who claimed to be from a finance company, and offered him a loan of Rs5 lakh. After he expressed interest and agreed to avail of the loan, the man asked him to send his documents and a photograph through WhatsApp.
“I was told that I would have to pay Rs8,333 in monthly instalment for 60 months and to initiate the loan, the first instalment would have to be deposited upfront. After I deposited the money online, another man called saying the loan had been processed and I have to Rs1 lakh as processing fee, which I did. Then, a third man, claiming to be a manager, called and asked for Rs1 lakh for ledger account, which would be refunded later,” he said in the complaint.
He said that he deposited the money in multiple transactions and was then told that a transaction had been declined, for which I would have to pay Rs80,000. “A week later, I was told by one of the suspects that for the ledger account, a 55-page report would have to be prepared and I needed to deposit Rs60,500 (Rs1,100 per page). I was asked to deposit another Rs50,000 for making an error while sending the money online. Finally, a fourth person called and said that the manager had been changed and for the loan to be cleared, a final payment of Rs50,000 was required,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}He said that he deposited the money in multiple transactions and was then told that a transaction had been declined, for which I would have to pay Rs80,000. “A week later, I was told by one of the suspects that for the ledger account, a 55-page report would have to be prepared and I needed to deposit Rs60,500 (Rs1,100 per page). I was asked to deposit another Rs50,000 for making an error while sending the money online. Finally, a fourth person called and said that the manager had been changed and for the loan to be cleared, a final payment of Rs50,000 was required,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Police said the man was told that to avail of the loan, he would have to show a minimum balance in the account, and transferred some more money for the same, eventually paying Rs4.61 lakh for a loan of Rs5 lakh.
A police official privy to the investigation, requesting anonymity, said all the transactions took place between October 17, 2018, and November 17, 2018, following which the suspects switched off their phones. “The victim required the loan for personal reasons. The suspects are yet to be arrested,” the official said.
At least two such incidents of fraud on the pretext of giving a loan have been reported in the city in the past six months. Police are yet to make an arrest in either case.
Police said a complaint was received in November 2018 and after investigation, a case was registered on Wednesday under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66 D of the Information Technology Act at the cybercrime police station.
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