Loan seekers duped using ‘magic pen’, one arrested

NOIDA: A 26-year-old man was arrested on Saturday for allegedly duping several people lakhs of rupees by using a 'magic pen' on the pretext of facilitating their bank loans. Kamal Sharma (26), a resident of Modi Nagar in Ghaziabad, used the magic pen to get crossed cheque from loan seekers and then manipulate the contents to steal money from their bank accounts.
According to a complainant, he had received a call from a person who identified himself as a private bank executive. The person told him that he would facilitate the loan process. The loan seeker was told to give some documents and a crossed cheque. Sharma then visited the complainant's house and asked him to sign the crossed cheque with his magic pen. He then left the house but later manipulated the contents of the crossed cheque.

"He altered the contents and deposited the cheque in the bank branch for withdrawal of money. The complainant's bank account did not have enough money and the cheque bounced," said Shahvez Khan, station officer, Noida Phase 2 police station.

The account holder informed the police about the incident after he received a message from the bank. Police put Sharma's mobile number on electronic surveillance and nabbed him from Yakubpur crossing. Sharma has admitted his involvement in the fraud and said that he received information about loan seekers from some websites.

Sharma told police that he used to make sure that his targets filled the crossed cheque with his magic pen and later erased the contents of the cheques and altered the details. A cheque, two Aadhaar cards, one magic pen, one eraser and some bank documents have been recovered from him.