Rs. 61000 STOLEN through loan scam on Instagram; how this woman lost her money

Social media has turned into a green field for online fraud. In a shocking instance, Instagram Reels proved to be the ondoing of a woman restaurant owner from Worli-Koliwada in Mumbai. She was scammed out of over Rs. 61000 after she applied for a low-interest rate futures loan, which she found on Instagram Reels. As per a report by Hindustan Times, Rutali Kolge, approached the police on February 23 and lodged a report about the incident.

On February 17, while searching for a loan to expand her business, she came across an advertisement on Instagram Reels. She clicked on the “Apply” button, which directed her to an online form to fill in her personal details. On the same day, she received a call from someone claiming to be Pankaj Singh Bhaduria, a representative of the finance company. He provided an explanation of the terms, period, rate of interest, and other relevant details and ultimately convinced her to apply for a loan of Rs. 10 lakh instead of the original amount of Rs. 5 lakh.

Not just that, the man sent the complainant an identity card with the company logos to verify his identity. She received a QR code to pay the processing fee. She did. Thereafter, she should have realised there was a problem as the representative told her the payment did not go through. She sent it again and he promised to refund the earlier amount. The fraudster then asked her to pay another amount to complete the process of the loan. This time she refused and said she would visit the company’s office instead.

Shockingly, when her family members visited to check the office at the said location, there was nothing! This is when she decided to reach out to the police.

Precautions to save yourself from online fraud

• Always be cautious of unsolicited messages or, as in this case, unverified ads on social media.
• Never respond to messages or friend requests from unknown people as fraudsters may use fake profiles.
• Always verify before sharing any information, post, or link. Instead, keep your personal information, such as PAN card or Aadhaar Card, private as much as possible.
• Avoid clicking on suspicious links.
• Always ensure to use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication.
• If you find any suspicious activity, then report it police cyber cell immediately.