Fake captain defrauds woman of ₹17.5 lakh, take these steps to stay cautious

Recently a case was reported where a woman has claimed that a fake captain has defrauded her of ₹17.5 lakh. This is how it happened: Manpreet Kaur's husband who works in the Army as Naik was approached by a colleague and was introduced to ‘Captain’ Sagar Guleria who – he claimed – had helped a number of Army personnel procure housing loan assistance and government subsidies.

Her husband – at Guleria's instance -- applied for a personal loan of ₹17.5 lakh which was transferred to the joint bank account of husband and wife. Then Guleria told them to transfer the entire money to his account so that he could apply for the assistance and subsidy. Then when they transferred the money through RTGS, Guleria stopped taking their calls and completely disappeared from the scene. This is one of the many frauds which have been happening all around for the ease of money transfer through net banking and UPI, among other options. 

In the first half of 2024-25, banking fraud cases surged 27 per cent over the corresponding period of previous year, RBI data showed.

Be careful: Take the following steps

1. Never transfer money on any pretext: In this instance, the victims were persuaded to transfer the money to the perpetrator's bank account. This is a complete red flag.

Why would someone convince you to transfer the money for any reason but to commit a fraud? Several cases of digital frauds also came to light where victims were told to transfer the money in order to prove genuineness.

2. Do not trust a stranger: Seeking help for subsidy and housing assistance should ideally happen via a formal channel and not through some person you meet unofficially. 

A new person promising to help you financially is just a stranger who you are reposing your faith in. There is more risk than benefit. ,

3. Reviews from friends: It is always recommended to ask around and seek feedback from the people around you. Sometimes you get too engrossed in the situation at hand and as a result, you develop a tunnel vision and fail to get the overall perspective of the situation. 

In this case, if the victim had asked around about the perpetrator, he would have probably been told that several Army personnel were defrauded with similar modus operandi.

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