Fraudsters posing as employees of Kotak life Insurance try to dupe businessman with lucrative investment plan; produce 'very real' fake documents. Customer gets suspicious, stalls cheque from being encashed
Fraudsters posing as employees of Kotak life Insurance try to dupe businessman with lucrative investment plan; produce 'very real' fake documents. Customer gets suspicious, stalls cheque from being encashed
Ten days ago, Inderpal Singh, owner of an electrical appliances shop at Sector 8 Rohini, received an unsolicited call. The caller, who had dialed the number of his residence at the posh Kohat Enclave in West Delhi, offered him an investment plan from Kotak Life Insurance company.
Singh would have dismissed it as another telemarketing ploy had it not been for the plan's lucrative offer.
ADVERTISEMENT
The caller, who reportedly identified himself as the zonal sales manager of Kotak Life Insurance, promised him a return of Rs 19 lakh if he invested Rs 40,000 annually for the next three years. "Vikram Singh, who claimed to be the zonal sales manager of the company, informed me he would send his executive along with the investment documents to explain the policy," said Singh.
This surprised me and my suspicions were raised. So, I didn't hand over the cheque. He offered to meet me the next day with an authorisation letter from the company to prove he was an employee," said Singh.
The next evening, reportedly Ravi returned with the authorisation letter (a copy of which and other documents produced by the executive are with MiD DAY).
Almost convinced about the plan, Singh handed over the cheque but just to play safe, wrote to his bank to stop its encashment.
The same evening Singh checked the website of the company and was shocked to find there was no mention of investment plan which was offered to him. "I was suspicious they were cheating me and that's why I asked my bank not to encash the cheque before handing it over. But I was curious to see the end of their plan," said Singh.
The next day, Singh visited the corporate office of Kotak Insurance at Subhash Place, Pitampura, and produced the documents given to him by Ravi.
"I was immediately told the papers were fake and that there was no such agent or investment plan. I have registered a complaint with the office here and one at their headquarters in Mumbai.
u00a0
I hope they take action against these fraudsters soon," said Singh.
When contacted, Rajeev Arora, manager, Kotak Life Insurance, said, "Inderpal Singh met me regarding the case. Those cheats do not belong to our company. This is a serious issue and we are investigating it."
MiD DAY tried to contact Vikram and Ravi on the cellphone numbers mentioned in the fake documents but none of them were functioning. The calls could not be connected.
Forged contract
According to Singh, the executive showed him the documents and they looked absolutely genuine with the seal of the company. He handed him the details of the investment plan and offered to meet the next day with an authorisation letter from the company
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
