Fraud Alert! A Fake Insurance Call From Delhi NCR, Mumbai Man Loses Rs 2 Crore

The Navi Mumbai police have arrested three persons who allegedly cheated a man of Rs 2.24 crore on the pretext of getting him money on his insurance policy. The accused made the man pay the amount into different bank accounts.

The police last week arrested two accused from Delhi and one from Haryana for the fraud that took place between August 2020 and July this year, senior inspector Gajanan Kadam of the cyber police station told news agency PTI.

Modus Operandi

The alleged accused posed as an employee of the Integrated Grievance Management System (IGMS) and offered to get the victim good money on his insurance policy after getting it closed.

The accused made the man pay Rs 2.24 crore into different bank accounts during this period using some excuse or the other, the official said.

When the man did not receive any money, he filed a police complaint, and a case under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology (IT) Act was registered, he said.

During the probe, the police found that of the total amount, Rs 1.8 crore had gone into the bank account of one Prashant Chamoli, a resident of Gurugram, Haryana. A police team rushed to Haryana and nabbed him, the official said.

Five mobile phones, five SIM cards, and a passport were seized from Chamoli, he said.

Following interrogation, the police zeroed in on Parvez Mohammad (41), a cloth seller, and Ranjit Vyas Tiwari (32), a money transfer agent, both from Delhi, the official said.

Safety tip

Call-based frauds are a major problem in India. These fraudsters use a variety of techniques to trick people into giving them money or personal information. To protect yourself from call-based fraud, you should never give out personal information over the phone, even if the caller claims to be from a legitimate company.

You should also be wary of any unsolicited calls or text messages, especially if they ask for money or personal information. If you are unsure about a call or text message, hang up and contact the company directly using a number you know is legitimate.

(With PTI inputs)