Instagram Scam: A restaurant owner from Worli-Koliwada who requested a loan with a low-interest rate on Instagram was conned out of more than 61,000 rupees.
Rutali Kolge, the complainant, went to the police on Thursday and informed them that she first saw the commercial on a reel on February 17. While she was searching for a loan to build her business, she opted to click the “apply” button in the reel which asked her to put in her details on an online form.
Later that day, she got a call from a person, who presented himself as Pankaj Singh Bhaduria, a representative of the finance company she was requesting the loan.
The representative persuaded the complainant to apply for a loan in the amount of Rs. 10 lahks rather than the initially desired amount of Rs. 5 lahks after outlining the terms, duration, rate of interest, and other facts to her. The individual allegedly provided the complainant with an identity card bearing the corporate logos as identification.
Instagram Scam: Accused statement
“He then asked for my PAN card, Aadhar card and other documents which I sent him on WhatsApp. He also sent me a QR code to pay the processing fee. On the payment of this fee, he also sent me a PDF file which he said was my loan approval document,” she said in her statement to the police.
Also, the complaint got an email requesting payment of the NEFT and RTGS costs. When she used the QR code Singh had earlier supplied to pay them, he claimed the money had not been credited and asked her to resend it, which she dutifully did. She was also given the assurance that the previous sum would be returned. The women had to pay the Tax and TDS in advance.
She put her foot down and demanded to go to their office when she was solicited for additional money in the name of yet another step in the procedure. She was given an address in BKC by the reps. She told the police that her mother and brother visited the location the following day but failed to locate any offices of the aforementioned organisation there.
When Kolge, 24, realised she had been duped, she went to the police and reported it.
According to a Dadar police official, a case had been opened against the two individuals mentioned by the complainant in her testimony. “The two accused have been booked under sections 419 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code as well as the relevant sections of the IT Act,” he said.
