The business trip of a 58 -year -old retired woman reached an obstacle before she could leave. It was scammed from ₹ 8.13 Lakh by scammers who passed by officials from a Gujarat state finance department by stating that they offer a 100% loan for their solar collection project.
After a complaint, the Hyderabad Cyber Crime police reserved a case and initiated an investigation.
The victim was approached by a man who said he was a friend of his late husband. Presenting as representative of the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Program (PMEGP) under the Finance Department of the State of Gujarat, provided details of the Trust of the Micro and Small Business Guarantee Fund (CGTMSE) and the PMB scheme. He assured him that, as a businesswoman, he was eligible for a 100% loan to finance his solar collection project.
Initially, the scammer contacted the victim’s husband through his mobile number, restoring the ties before approaching it. Anxious to explore new business opportunities, the victim expressed interest in taking advantage of the loan. The scammer, together with an associate who presented himself as a credit chief, guided it through the loan application process, requesting personal details that she easily provided.
According to the appearance of official procedures, the victim was asked to make multiple payments for the government processing rate, including subsidy charges, legal fee and other administrative costs.
It was assured that the payments were reimbursable, transferred the amounts required to the accounts provided by the scammers. He even received a loan allocation letter, signing documents that seemed to authenticate the process.
After several transactions, the scammers informed him that the loan had been sanctioned and that he would soon be accredited to his account. However, funds were never received. During this period, the victim was hospitalized for cardiac surgery. After discharge, he tried to contact the scammers regarding the promised funds or a reimbursement of their payments. However, they refused to return the money and, on the other hand, demanded additional payments to release the amount of the loan.
Upon realizing the elaborate fraud, he filed a complaint with the police.
Police said the scammers are increasingly moving to government officials and financial experts, attracting victims with promises of commercial loans under government initiatives such as PMEGP and CGTMSE. Many unsuspecting people are deceived to pay an alleged processing rate under the illusion that they are reimbursable.
They emphasized that government loans do not require early payments before disbursement, and official websites should always be verified for verification. The victims are often pressed to act quickly to avoid verifying the details, police said.
Published – February 6, 2025 07:35 pm ist
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