The Adyar Cyber Crime Cell has busted yet another online loan scam, and arrested two accused, including a woman who cheated many people after collecting money on the pretext of facilitating quick loans at cheap rates.
In the Adyar police district, police have already busted six cases of online loan scams and sealed the call centres which were run by the fraudsters.
The police stumbled upon the latest racket following a complaint given by Purushothaman, 22 from Velachery who was looking for a loan to meet the financial needs of his sister. A woman called him over the phone and introduced herself as calling from a leading bank. She said the government had been extending loans at cheaper rates for sick industries without any collateral during the lockdown. The caller also sent her identity card through Whatsapp and convinced him to get the loan. On her request, he Whatsapped all documents to her. She responded that he was eligible for a ₹2 lakh loan.
Police said the caller made the complainant pay ₹7,000 online on the pretext of insurance for the loan amount. Later, he was made to pay ₹3,000 towards GST charges. When the caller asked him to pay ₹3,000 to enhance his CIBIL score, the complainant grew suspicious about the transaction and asked the caller to deduct the amount once he received the loan amount. The woman caller then switched off her phone and there was no response.
The victim complained to the Adyar Cyber Crime Team. Going into the call records of the fraudster and the bank transactions, a special team of police personnel traced the suspected caller who was identified as Shanmugapriya, 24 of Nanganallur. She and R. Premnath, 30 of Veppampattu, Tiruvallur district were running a call centre under the name of ‘HP Global Services Banking &Non Banking’ and cheating many persons after collecting money by offering online loans. Both were earlier working in another call centre in Nemilichery and having gained previous experience, they were running the call centre in Sevvapet for the last one year. Both were arrested and remanded in judicial custody.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Adyar V. Vikraman said, “Since insurance is mandatory for loan products, some unscrupulous people, utilising this clause have been committing fraud on the pretext of insurance for loans, and also collecting service charges. When the gullible victims demand their money back, the fraudsters switch off their mobile phones or change their SIM cards leaving the victims high and dry. No bank will offer loans over the phone and the public have been advised to be more vigilant about the fraudulent calls.”
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