Mumbai: Woman loses Rs 16 lakh to fake job offer

The fraudulent offer letter sent to Priyanka Yadav

A 26-year-old woman, working with a foreign bank fell victim to an internet scam, with the lure of a job. The scammers conducted a telephonic interview and obtained her personal details, which they later used to take loans in her name by adding an alternative number to her bank accounts.

Loans were fraudulently secured from HDFC and IDFC banks without proper verification. The woman became aware of the scam only after receiving EMI notifications from both banks. The scammers allegedly took loans totalling Rs 16 lakh, with R11 lakh from IDFC Bank and Rs 5 lakh from HDFC Bank.

The woman, Priyanka Yadav, has filed a complaint with the East Cyber Cell of the Mumbai Police, alleging she was duped between June and September. In her complaint, Yadav stated that she was approached by a man named Karthik Sharma, who obtained her details from her LinkedIn account while she was looking for a job.

The multiple LinkedIn accounts the accused used to scam victims

According to her statement, Sharma claimed to be from the HR department of Barclays, a British bank, and said they were recruiting for the HR department. He told her that her resume had been selected from LinkedIn.

"Since I had updated my LinkedIn account to reflect my experience working with another foreign bank, I agreed to talk to him, as an opportunity with Barclays would have been great for my career," Yadav told mid-day. Yadav explained that she participated in two telephonic interviews with the accused. After the final round, she was informed that she had been selected and was asked to send her details, including her Aadhaar and PAN cards.

"I shared the documents as part of the job process, as all companies require them for processing applications," she said. During the interview process, the scammers informed her that her bank account would be temporarily frozen for audit purposes. "I thought it was a big company, and their process might be different, so I agreed to it, but I never provided any OTP or confidential details," she added.

Yadav further claimed that she was asked to submit a video interview explaining why she wanted the job, which she did. She was then asked to attend a final, face-to-face interview at the Worli branch of Barclays. "When I visited with the appointment letter for the final round, I discovered that no such person worked there, and the appointment letter was fake," she said.

Realising she had been scammed, Yadav blocked all her accounts. However, she soon began receiving messages from HDFC and IDFC banks regarding loan EMIs. One EMI of Rs 45,000 had been deducted from her account, while another was paid by the scammers, which she learned from her bank statement.

"I visited IDFC Bank and filed a complaint. I was shocked to find that the scammer, who had since switched off his phone, had added his number as an alternative contact on my account and forged my signature. What was more shocking was how easily it could be identified as a forgery, yet the bank still sanctioned the loan," she said. Yadav plans to visit HDFC Bank to file a complaint there as well.

She questioned how the banks had added an alternative number to her account without her physical presence, as this process typically requires the account holder to be present, and banks usually verify the changes by calling the original number. "The bank officials were shocked and assured me of a proper investigation," Yadav told mid-day.

According to the Cyber Cell, this is a rare case of cyber fraud where the victim's documents were used to secure loans in this manner. "There may be an insider involved, or the scammers could have worked with a bank and exploited system loopholes. We are investigating further," said a senior officer from the Cyber Cell.

Cyber safety tips

>> Don't accept unknown calls
>> Don't click on unknown emails, URLs, QR codes, etc.
>> Don't accept friend requests from strangers
>> Don't share personal details on social media
>> Always lock your social media profile and keep it private
>> Use strong passwords and different passwords for each account
>> Set purchase limits on debit/credit cards
>> In case of cybercrime, please report on the helpline no. 1930