Loan Sharks Loot Innocent Customers
Ghulam Rasool from Srigufwara, Anantnag, came to Kashmir Central office on
September 13. He complained that he had been deceived by the bank authorities.
Ghulam Rasool stated that in 2020, he applied for a loan to buy a load carrier tipper. He
provided the bank officials the proforma provided by the motor vehicles agency, which
specified the exact cost letter of the tipper. The amount shown in the proforma
provided by the motor vehicles agency was Rs 23.53 lakh.
Ghulam Rasool said that the bank officials told him to make down payment of Rs 5 lakh.
“I told the bank officials that I will pay Rs 9 lakh as down payment. They again insisted
that the down payment should be Rs 5 lakh only. I remained firm on Rs 9 lakh. My
argument was that the actual cost of the vehicle was Rs 23.53 lakh. I was applying for a
loan of Rs 14.53 lakh only. The bank sanctioned the loan amount and I brought the
vehicle home."
Ghulam Rasool said it was his misfortune that the vehicle broke down several times
during the first three months. “I had to take it frequently to the motor vehicles agency.
First I took it to the agency workshop at Bijbehara, and then at Srinagar. Days turned
into weeks, and weeks into months and years, but I didn’t receive the vehicle,” said
Ghulam Rasool.
Fed up by the company, Ghulam Rasool filed a fraud case against it. “When I was
narrating the whole story to the lawyer, he asked me about the initial loan amount. On
this, I contacted the concerned bank branch. I was shocked to know that the bank
officials had raised an extra loan amount of Rs 7 lakhs without my consent. Now the
initial loan amount on papers was Rs 21 lakh. But I had been informed that the loan
amount was Rs 14.53 lakh. I shouted at the bank officials that how was the loan amount
increased without my knowledge. The situation was so strange that I did not know what
to do,” Ghulam Rasool said dejectedly.
BLURB FOR THIS SECTION
I was shocked to know that bank officials had raised an extra loan amount of Rs 7 lakh
without my consent. Now the initial loan amount on papers was Rs 21 lakh, though I
was informed that the loan amount was Rs 14.53 lakh
Unauthorised Loans Raised, Customer Unaware
In April this year, Crime Branch Kashmir filed a charge-sheet against a bank executive
from Srinagar for allegedly raising unauthorised loans. According to the charge-sheet,
the bank executive used the withdrawn amount for personal use and share trading
through fraudulent means.
This has emerged as a new way by which bank employees illegally uses the accounts of
their friends and relatives to raise loans and use the amount for personal uses. In the
net-banking system, the account holder has personal user name and password for
banking.
Sources reveal that in some cases, bank employees ask their relatives and friends for the
user name and password for time to time monitoring of disbursements and deposits.
The bank employees take the advantage of the username and password, raise loans in
their accounts and later withdraw it themselves.
Cyber Crimes: Money Loot Through Online Payments
The cases of digital thefts are multiplying daily in Kashmir. The deceit happens in ways
that customer have no idea that they have been cheated of their money. Usually the
customers come to know about the deceit after they visit the bank to know their current
financial position. The fraud leaves the customers highly confused. If the amount is high,
they are sometimes driven to extreme steps like taking their life.
In some cases, these fraudster agents have direct links with bank officials. One of the
ways in which the fraud happens is this. A customer applies for a loan from the bank. His
loan is rejected for some reason. The agent steps in, offers help to the customer in
availing the loan.
The deal is done and the loan gets sanctioned. The documentation process is done by
the agent and not by the customer. The agent submits the required documents on
behalf of the customer. The desired loan amount in the application form is higher than
what was requested by the customer.
The customer unknowingly signs the application form. The loan gets sanctioned in
favour of the customer. The exceeding loan amount is shared by the agent and the bank
officials. The customer receives his loan amount, and pays the installment every month.
In this way, the customer pays extra amount, thinking that he is repaying the loan
amount.
According to bank officials, even educated people are fooled and looted by way of
digital thefts. Sometimes in the greed of becoming billionaires, many educated people
get duped by professional hackers.
In loan cases, there are lower chances of any frauds, because banks usually double-
check and verify each and every case. Finally when the loan is sanctioned, it always gets
credited to the customer’s account. But when the bank officials and agents are hand in
glove, they gang up to cheat the customer in diverse ways.
Sources say complaints have been received from many customers that their loan
amount has been withdrawn unauthorisedly. In most of the cases, after the
investigation was conducted, it was found that their own family member had misused
the debit or credit card.
When questioned in this regard, an official of JK Bank said that their bank does not have
any agents. People should not trust anybody for their own financial work. They should
do it themselves only, since people who claim to be agents may dupe innocent
customers. The police also advocate that online shopping must be done from genuine
and trusted shopping stores only. Police sources said that at times if shopping is done
from unknown and untrustworthy sites, the hackers hack the information related to the
customer and loot him.
BLURB 1
The customer unknowingly signs the application form. The exceeding loan amount is
shared by the agent and the bank officials. The customer pays extra amount, thinking
that he is repaying the loan amount
BLURB 2
Sources say complaints have been received from many customers that their loan
amount has been withdrawn unauthorisedly. In most of the cases, it was found that
their own family member had misused the debit or credit card
