Hyderabad Businessman Duped of ₹41 Lakh Under Pretext of Loan

Hyderabad: A businessman from Quthbullapur in Hyderabad was duped of ₹41 lakh under the pretext of offering him a loan of ₹50 lakh under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP).

The businessman initially received an SMS, offering him business loan and he was eligible for 35 per cent subsidy on the loan amount. Further, he also offered a waiver on paying EMIs for the first year. Attracted by this offer, the victim shared his Aadhaar, PAN, bank statement, GST details and other documents to the number that was shared.

One person claiming to be an executive from PMEGP office, asked the victim to pay ₹7,200 as security deposit and as he paid the amount, the executive shared a loan approval letter, saying the loan amount will be credited to the victim’s bank account in 72 hours.

But even after the given time, when there was no response, he called up the executive, who told him to pay charges towards loan insurance, RBI charges, etc., and directed him to pay ₹18.69 lakh and threatened to cancel the approved loan if he did not pay. Later, another person contacted the victim claiming to be a senior executive. He said that the first executive was a fraud and asked the victim to pay ₹7.56 lakh and the victim paid it. He switched off his mobile after the fund transfer.

After this also several other persons claiming to be PMEGP executives contacted the victim and duped him in the same manner, till he paid a total of ₹41,72,889. When they continued to demand him to pay more, he realised that he was duped and lodged a complaint with the Cybercrime PS of Cyberabad. A case has been registered and an investigation is on.