Vizagites duped of Rs 50 lakh in fake loan scam

Visakhapatnam: More than 10 youngsters from parts of Vizag lost over Rs 50 lakh after falling prey to a fake loan scam promising loans of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh with no documents or income proof required.A youngster received a call from an unidentified number. The caller claimed to be a representative of a financial services company and offered loans ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. The caller said that the loan will be disbursed without any paperwork or submission of documents and will not require any proof of income.The probe of initial communication suggested that the caller was preying on the financial vulnerabilities of the victim. As the victim, facing financial strain, showed interest in getting loans of between Rs 20 and Rs 25 lakh, the caller and his team started taking money from him on various pretexts, such as processing charges for the loan, advanced EMI payments, GST charges and a few other charges.While the senders did not promise any specific amount to the victim, they kept telling him he was eligible for a loan up to Rs25 lakh. The cyber fraudsters were communicating with the complainant via messages and calls.Trusting the callers, the victim transferred amounts ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 to avail the loans of around Rs 25 lakh. Over the next few days, amounts in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000 were sought from the victim on fake pretexts like processing fees, loan insurance and a few others.Later, the cyber crooks started coercing the man into making more payments, claiming there would be legal consequences otherwise. Over a period, the victim made multiple transfers to different mule accounts totalling Rs four lakh.Like the victim, around 15 people, including a few women, made multiple transfers to different bank accounts provided by the cyber fraudsters. Altogether lost over Rs 50 lakh.As the complainants started demanding disbursement of the loan amount, the fraudsters went into incommunicado.The police said digital lending fraud is on the rise in parts of Andhra Pradesh. Fraudulent loan apps and fake lenders are targeting people, including youngsters, with tempting offers and instant approvals. Always check the details of the lender before clicking on any Apply for a Loan link. This one step of caution can help you avoid big financial losses as the cybercrooks are coming up with innovative methods to dupe people, the police added.