Identity theft: Three loans, Rs 10 lakh on credit cards using IIT Bombay engineer's credentials

MUMBAI: A project engineer, working at IIT Powai, was shocked to learn that three fraudulent loans totalling Rs 4 lakh were procured using his credentials. Furthermore, four credit cards issued in his name were used for 156 transactions to shop and make online purchases worth Rs 10 lakh between Jan 8 and 19, all without his knowledge. The West Cyber police filed a case against an unidentified individual on May 28 for the identity theft. The victim became aware of the fraud when 3 lending organisations contacted him for loan payment. He then checked his CIBIL score to discover the dues. The victim later discovered that his Aadhaar card, PAN card, and banking information had been compromised."Probe is on to find out why the complainant did not receive any alerts from the financial institutions when the loans were issued," said a cop.The team is gathering information to find out who has misused the engineer’s confidential data to get the loans and also the credit card details. Probe is also on find out when four credit cards issued in his name were used to do online purchases,” said a West region cyber police officer.The deception first surfaced on Feb 20 when Credito20, a financial company, contacted the victim regarding an unpaid EMI for a Rs 13,500 loan.According to the complainant's FIR, “When I informed the institution that I have not taken any loan, they provided me my Aadhaar card, PAN Card, and my banking details that were used in availing the loan and carrying out fraud with the four credit cards.”Upon checking his CIBIL score, he was shocked to discover two additional loans: Rs 3 lakh from Punawala Fincorp and Rs 80,000 fromKisth Finance Company in his name.“The complainant on realising that his confidential documents had been exploited to secure loans and credit cards filed a complaint through an online cyber portal in Feb,” a cyber police officer said. The case was registered after the police confirmed that the victim hadn’t received any notifications regarding loan disbursements or card transactions from either financial institutions or banks.