Police have registered a case against an e-service centre operator in Navi Mumbai for allegedly cheating several people of more than Rs 20 lakh under the pretext of arranging business loans from a bank, officials said on Monday.
As reported by news agency PTI, the accused operated an e-seva kendra at Karanjade in the Panvel area, promising loans to people under the `Stand-Up India` scheme.
As per the officials from Panvel police station, the accused told a 32-year-old local delivery worker that he could secure a business loan of Rs 42 lakh from a leading public lender after verifying his credit score.
The accused demanded Rs 3.5 lakh for documentation
Furthermore, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 3.5 lakh as documentation, processing and file-making charges for sanctioning the loan, which the victim paid in instalments over the last two years.
Later, the accused closed his centre, and his phone was switched off. Upon enquiry, the victim came across other people who also claimed to have paid sums ranging between Rs 28,000 and Rs 2.9 lakh each to the accused for similar promised loans. The total amount allegedly collected from 18 victims was Rs 20.81 lakh, the police said.
Police officials further added that, based on the delivery worker`s complaint, the police registered a case against the accused on Saturday on charges of cheating, and efforts were made to trace him, they added.
Man loses Rs 71.1 lakh to cyber fraudsters posing as CBI officers
Earlier this month, cyber fraudsters posing as CBI officers allegedly duped a 42-year-old man from Maharashtra`s Thane district of Rs 71.1 lakh after threatening to implicate him in a false case of harassment, police said on Saturday, reported news agency PTI.
According to the police, the victim, a resident of Dombivli, received a call in the first week of March from an unidentified person claiming to be from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), reported PTI.
"The caller told the complainant that he had sent abusive messages to women and that a case was registered against him at Ghatkopar Police Station and that the CBI was probing the matter," an officer said.
Subsequently, the two accused, posing as CBI officers, contacted the victim, alleging that his bank transactions indicated fraudulent activities.
"The duo claimed that multiple agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate (ED), would investigate the case. They also sent forged documents, purportedly from the Supreme Court, to make their claims appear genuine," the officer added, reported PTI.
He said that the accused demanded money in phases from the complainant to settle the case, assuring that the amount would be refunded.
The victim shelled out Rs 71.1 lakh through online transactions, he said.
The fraud came to light after the victim shared details of the transactions with his wife, who questioned the accused and verified the documents sent to them. On finding discrepancies, the family realised they had been cheated, reported PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
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