Panvel: 40-year-old loses Rs. 2 lakh in cyber fraud

A 46-year-old resident of Gavan in Panvel Taluka lost Rs 2 lakh to a cyber fraudster after he decided to close a loan account by making a one-time payment.

The complainant had taken a Rs 2 lakh personal loan in November 2019 from a financial organization on a 30-month EMI of Rs 4,758. In June 2022, he decided to close the loan account by making a one-time payment as he had additional money.

According to police, the complainant dialled a toll-free number of the financial company and the customer care executive asked him that an executive would contact him soon to close the loan account.

The complainant received a call from a mobile number and the caller identified himself as Vinod Shukla, who shared bank account details on WhatsApp and asked to deposit Rs. 1,05,000 to close the account.

The complainant deposited the amount in multiple transactions. However, the fraudster kept asking to deposit in the name of other charges. In total, the complainant deposited Rs. 2,00,951.

The next day, the executive sent a fake loan closing certificate and asked him to deposit Rs. 34,500 within five minutes to close the loan account. This made the complainant suspicious, after which he went to the bank to check the account details in which he transferred money. He was shocked to know that the account was in the name of Pritam Kumar in Patna in Bihar and not of any financial company.

Upon learning, he immediately approached the Nhava Sheva police station where a complaint was registered against the unidentified person under section 420 of IPC and sections 66 C, and 66 D of the IT Act.