Bengaluru doctor loses close to a lakh trying to apply for loan

Bengaluru: A Bengaluru-based doctor lost Rs 94,110 while applying for a loan to renovate her clinic in West Bengaluru’s Byadarahalli, the police reported.

Sindhu (name changed), a 33-year-old doctor, told DH that she was deceived by documents sent by the fraudsters, which included her bank details and other personal information, making them seem legitimate.

She recounted the incident, saying that after downloading an app from a private sector bank where she has an account, she submitted a loan application. The following day, she received a call from an individual claiming to be a bank official.

Sindhu highlighted that usually, when a call comes from a spam number, the screen turns red and a spam alert is triggered. But this did not happen in her case, and so she did not suspect anything amiss.

"The caller, posing as a bank official, told me that my loan application was approved. During the call, he sent a WhatsApp message requesting the documents needed for the loan,” she explained.

After submitting the requested documents, the fraudster sent her a document that detailed her bank account information, the loan application, and included her photograph, falsely stating that a loan of Rs 5 lakh had been approved.

The doctor was then instructed to transfer funds to cover various fees, including a processing fee, an upgrade fee, and transaction fees. After complying, she received receipts for her payments via WhatsApp in a document form, totalling Rs 94,110.

“The document looked incredibly authentic. It was expertly edited to resemble an official bank document,” she told DH.

She noted that the language used by the initial caller was difficult to understand and sounded grammatically wrong. However, the call was subsequently transferred to a superior who communicated fluently and convincingly.

An investigating officer informed DH that a case has been registered, but it was too late to freeze the transferred amount by the time the complaint was filed. Nonetheless, an investigation has been initiated.