Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
A 33-year-old man from Pune’ Katraj was duped of Rs 19 lakh by cyber fraudsters who lured him with the promise of an instant loan requiring no documents or income proof.
According to police, he made 58 bank transfers to mule accounts over a span of just 20 days.
An FIR in the case was registered on Saturday at Bharati Vidyapeeth police station by the 33-year-old man, who works at a provisions store.
According to police, in May, he received a message on WhatsApp from an unidentified number.
The sender claimed to be an executive of a financial services company and offered personal loans between the range of Rs 5 to 25 lakh. The sender said that the loan will be disbursed without any paperwork or submission of documents and will not require any proof of income.
“The probe of initial communication suggests that the Cyber criminals were preying on the financial vulnerabilities of the victim. As the victim showed interest in getting a loan, they started taking money from him on various pretexts. While the senders did not promise any specific amount to the victim, they kept telling him he was eligible for loan upto Rs 25 lakh,” said an officer who is part of the probe.
The cyber fraudsters were communicating with the complainant via messages and calls.
The Katraj resident was initially asked to make small transfers of amounts like Rs 1,150 and Rs 9,550 on the pretext of processing charges for the loan. Over the next 20 days, amounts in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 were sought from the victim on the fake pretexts like processing fees, loan insurance, clearance charges.
Later, the accused started coercing the man into making more and more payments claiming there would be legal consequences otherwise, police said.
Between May 9 and May 29, the complainant had made a total of 58 transfers to nine different mule accounts totalling Rs 19.57 lakh.
As the complainant started demanding for disbursement of the loan amount, the fraudsters went incommunicado.
After he approached the police, an FIR was registered. “We have launched a probe into the cell numbers and bank accounts used by the suspects,” said an officer.
