Financial fraud: Many taken for a ride

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A gang of fraudsters have been operating in the city who according to the Bengaluru police has been involved in purchasing vehicles, mobiles and other electronic appliances on Easy Monthly Installments (EMI) from various finance companies, by forging identity documents.

In a recent complaint filed in Pulikeshi Nagar police station, a victim of the scam claimed four accused identified as Zain, Lokesh, Hafiz and Mansoor, got in touch with him and offered a chain-link scheme. They collected a copy of his PAN, Aadhaar and other documents and paid him Rs 1,000 and asked him for more documents for more chance of earning.

The victim claimed that he enrolled 25 more people into this scheme by providing their documents to the accused. Within a few months, all of the victims started getting phone calls from different finance companies demanding payment of EMIs for the purchases of vehicles and other equipment, of which the victims had no clue about. When the victims came to know about the fraud, it was too late as the accused had switched off their mobile phones and not traceable. Police have registered a case and are on a look out for them.