CHENNAI: The recent surge in bank loan frauds in Tamil Nadu is the handiwork of scamsters operating out of Uttam Nagar in New Delhi. Investigators say the masterminds are mostly people from the state, who shifted base to Uttam Nagar, notorious for fake call centres, following a sustained crackdown by the Tamil Nadu police over the last couple of years.
Now the Greater Chennai Police (GCP) have wised up to the tactic and have teams camping in New Delhi. They are also working closely with financial institutions to counter the scamsters, who forge names and logos of reputable brands to dupe customers.
The racket is well organized. The scamsters rent proper office space and hire Tamil-speakers, mostly housewives settled in Delhi, offering up to Rs15,000 a month for a few hours work a day. The new hires are often unware that they are part of a scam, investigators said. This is because former bank staff are brought in to train them to solicit customers for loans, like in a legitimate nonbanking financial institution.
Behind the scenes, the masterminds buy fake SIM cards in bulk that cannot be traced to them. In a typical case, the first few calls to a potential target will offer loans at a very low interest rate of 1% to 2%. “Most individuals fall for this trap. The call centre employees convince the victims to pay Rs5,000 to Rs10,000 immediately as ‘admission fees’. In some cases, they trick them into paying lakhs of rupees in several installments citing processing fees,…
Now the Greater Chennai Police (GCP) have wised up to the tactic and have teams camping in New Delhi. They are also working closely with financial institutions to counter the scamsters, who forge names and logos of reputable brands to dupe customers.
The racket is well organized. The scamsters rent proper office space and hire Tamil-speakers, mostly housewives settled in Delhi, offering up to Rs15,000 a month for a few hours work a day. The new hires are often unware that they are part of a scam, investigators said. This is because former bank staff are brought in to train them to solicit customers for loans, like in a legitimate nonbanking financial institution.
Behind the scenes, the masterminds buy fake SIM cards in bulk that cannot be traced to them. In a typical case, the first few calls to a potential target will offer loans at a very low interest rate of 1% to 2%. “Most individuals fall for this trap. The call centre employees convince the victims to pay Rs5,000 to Rs10,000 immediately as ‘admission fees’. In some cases, they trick them into paying lakhs of rupees in several installments citing processing fees,…
