Mumbai: A 40-year-old woman was duped of more than Rs 9 lakh while attempting to settle a loan of Rs 5.2 lakh with a finance company. The woman, a resident of Shastrinagar in Sion, fell prey to fraudsters who uploaded spurious customer care numbers for the finance company on Google, masquerading as company representatives.
In Nov 2024, the victim borrowed Rs 6 lakh from family and friends back in her hometown in Odisha to repay the loan in full. While looking up the company’s customer care number online, she dialled a number that appeared on Google as the finance company’s helpline. Under the pretext of loan repayment, the fraudster swindled her of Rs 10 lakh.
According to Wadala TT police station officers, the woman who works at a stationery shop near CSMT and supports her husband and two children, procured a loan of Rs 5.2 lakh from a finance company to purchase a home. She repaid 18 EMIs of Rs 22,349 each but sought to close the loan early due to excessive interest rates.
The woman while looking up the company’s customer care number online, dialled a mobile number that appeared on Google as the finance company’s helpline. The person on the line persuaded her that he was an official representative and furnished multiple bank account numbers for loan repayment.
Between Nov 12 and 14, 2024, she transferred a total of Rs 5,99,069 across several bank accounts. It was only after the payments failed to reflect in her loan account that she realised she had been deceived. She contacted the cybercrime helpline (1930) and lodged a complaint. Determined to close the loan, the victim borrowed another Rs 4 lakh from her brother in Odisha and once again searched for the customer care number online. This time, she called another fraudulent number falsely listed. Believing she was finally resolving the issue, she transferred Rs 3,07,524 on April 3, 2025. It, too, proved to be a scam. In total, she lost Rs 9,06,593.
