Have you heard about Mr. Raju’s tale?
Well, like millions of Indians, Mr. Raju had been searching online for the perfect personal loan at a lower rate of interest. That’s when he thought he had hit a jackpot when one day he received an email from a ‘representative’ of Bajaj Finserv – one of India’s largest and most trusted NBFCs! The email contained a loan offer too good to be true – a very low rate of interest that wasn’t available elsewhere and instant approval without even checking the credit score!
Elated, Raju immediately clicked on the link which took him to a website where he was asked to fill in his personal and bank details. When that was done, he received a call from the representative an hour later who seemed very friendly and helpful. He asked Raju to pay a fee because this lucrative loan offer was a limited period and Raju excitedly agreed!
Once the payment was made, Raju even received a loan approval letter and looked forward to the loan amount in his account.
Too bad he hadn’t heard about lending frauds in India – which is what exactly happened to him here! To this day, Raju has yet to receive the promised loan. The representative is also unreachable.
‘Only if I knew how to spot online loan frauds…,’ laments Raju.
How to spot a tempting online loan fraud
Well, Mr. Raju’s story is not very uncommon. Thousands of people get duped by tempting online loan frauds in India every year – all because they lack awareness. Here are a few red flags of malicious loan scam offers that come in the form of emails, social media ads, fake websites, SMSes, or even phone calls!
- You receive an unsolicited loan offer without applying anywhere, especially with a representative reaching out to you personally.
- Too good to be true terms like no credit score check – something that no reputed bank or lender does.
- The representative calls you directly and asks for advance payment before disbursing the loan.
- Fake email ID/website name in the offer (such as bajajsfinserv.com instead of bajajfinserv.in).
- You are redirected to a fishy website where you are asked personal details like a bank account, credit card, OTPs, etc.
- The lender pressurise you by throwing around terms like ‘limited period offer’ to create a sense of urgency.
An example of a fake loan approval letter in Bajaj’s name demanding payment from the client. Notice how the email ID and website are incorrect.
Source: Er. Abhishek Sharma on Twitter: "See fake approval letter given by these fraud to clients who came for loan from Bajaj finance https://t.co/Zmk2R5Hcm8/Twitter"
Bajaj’s name is often used by fraudsters to carry out digital lending frauds in India. Always verify/ report any such loan offer by contacting Bajaj at www.bajajfinserv.in/reach-us.
Stay alert, stay safe from online frauds in India.
