Recently, scams have been on the rise, and despite widespread awareness about how to avoid them, many people are becoming victims of these fraudulent schemes. One of the most common scams involves part-time jobs, but this time, it was not a job scam. A person lost a large amount of money while applying for a loan. Surprisingly, this incident happened through Flipkart app. What happened here?

A postmaster from Ludhiana fell victim to a loan-related cyber fraud and lost Rs 87,000. The victim, Sarabjit Singh, a resident of Kaile village of Sudhar area, had applied for a loan of Rs 2 lakh through the Flipkart app. A few days after submitting the application, on December 4, he received a call from a person posing as a representative of the app, claiming that his loan had been approved. However, the caller informed them that the loan could not be disbursed due to incomplete KYC (Know Your Customer) verification.

To rectify this, Sarabjit was asked to click on a link and complete the online KYC form. Believing it to be a legitimate process, he followed the instructions and was asked to make a token payment of Rs 5 to finalize the verification. But instead of Rs 5, a huge amount of Rs 86,998 was deducted from his bank account. Surprised by the sudden disconnection, Sarabjit immediately contacted the person, but the person disconnected and switched off the phone.

Sarabjeet then contacted Jagraon police station and the case was sent to the cyber crime department for further investigation. According to ASI Jagroop Singh, an FIR has been registered under Section 318 (4) as well as Section 66 (D) of the Information Technology (IT) Act for fraudulent and dishonest delivery of property under BNS. Authorities are now working to trace the bank accounts into which the stolen money was transferred.

To avoid falling victim to such frauds, it is important to be cautious when dealing with unknown callers or suspicious links, especially in financial matters. Always verify the authenticity of calls or messages, especially when asked to complete KYC or make any payment. Avoid clicking on unwanted links and never share personal details or banking information without checking the source. Using official banking apps and authorized websites is the safest way to handle transactions. It is always better to apply for loans through authorized banks and not through third-party apps like Flipkart.