Cybercriminals exploit ‘pre-approved’ loans to cheat man of Rs 5.8 lakh

Bengaluru: In what has been seen as cybercriminals’ ability to find new ways of cheating victims, unidentified scammers exploited a pre-approved loan facility to threaten a 29-year-old Bengaluru man and defraud him of Rs 5.8 lakh.

The FIR stated that the suspects held Gurmeet Singh (name changed), a resident of Kasturi Nagar, under duress for over three hours, accusing him of drug trafficking and money laundering.

The incident began around 11.47 am on October 2, when Singh received a phone call from someone posing as a FedEx agent. The caller claimed there was a parcel in his name containing illegal items and drugs.

Singh was then instructed to install Skype on his phone and laptop, where he connected with a person claiming to be a narcotics officer from Mumbai, using the ID ‘MH491 NCRB Department'. The alleged officer accused Singh of being involved in drug trafficking and money laundering linked to his bank account.

The scammers then coerced Singh into opening his mobile banking app and navigating to the pre-approved loans section. They insisted he share his screen, pressuring him into accepting a pre-approved loan under the guise that it was connected to their so-called investigation.

Singh applied for the loan at approximately 1.46 pm and Rs 4.9 lakh was soon credited to his account. He was intimidated further, with the so-called narcotics officer warning that the funds were "black money" and would remain tied to his account.

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Under direction, Singh added six bank accounts provided by the scammers as beneficiaries on his banking app. Claiming it was necessary for “investigation and tracking purposes”, they pressured him into transferring funds, stating that the money did not belong to him.

Between 2 pm and 3 pm, Singh made four transactions, ultimately sending Rs 5.8 lakh to the suspects.

The East Cyber Economic and Narcotics (CEN) Crime Police Station registered a case on October 4 and has initiated an investigation.

“We have seen a rise in this trend, where scammers force victims into taking instant pre-approved loans. Since banks regard these loans as legitimate, the victim bears the financial burden,” a senior officer said.