Madurai
A youth, Rajesh (name changed), who responded to an advertisement in social media that promised to arrange hassle-free loans, was duped of ₹ 51,300.
According to Rajesh, who was employed with a private company, he wanted to start a business for which he required ₹ 2 lakh.
Not knowing whom to approach, he stumbled upon an advertisement that popped up on his Facebook page.
When he dialled a mobile number mentioned in the advertisement on July 28, there was no response. However, after a few minutes, he got a call from a man, who claimed to be the manager of a nationalised bank.
Promising that he could arrange a loan with subsidy, he asked Rajesh to deposit ₹ 6,000 towards documentation charges. He transferred the money through an app.
“Later, I was asked to deposit ₹ 7,000 as the manager’s commission. I did that too,” Mr. Rajesh said.
Every time, he got a call, the manager would say that the loan amount would be deposited to the account of Rajesh within 10 minutes, if he paid another ₹ 7,000 or ₹ 12,000.
“I did not realise that I was being duped and kept sending money for three days. In total, I had transferred ₹ 51,300 in nine installments,” Mr. Rajesh said.
But, when he was asked to deposit more money, he grew suspicious and asked a few questions. And then the phone number which he had been calling suddenly went mute as it was switched off.
Rajesh lodged a complaint with Madurai District Cyber Crime police. A case of cheating has been registered against an unidentified person and investigation is under way.
Published - August 06, 2021 06:40 pm IST