Facebook loan scam: Kottayam woman duped of Rs two lakh by fraudulent bank ad, accused arrested

KOTTAYAM: Money was extorted from a woman who applied for a loan from a private bank through a link in an advertisement seen on Facebook. The complainant lost two lakh rupees. The accused were arrested by the police. Nahas, a native of Ernakulam Fort, Kochi and Saadath PT (34), a native of Palluruthi, were caught by the police.

The accused were arrested by the Kottayam Erattupetta Police. The victim was a resident of Bharananganam. The accused extorted Rs. 200,000 from the woman saying that she would get a personal loan.

The woman saw a personal loan advertisement of a private bank on Facebook and applied for a loan through a link. She was told that she would get a loan of up to Rs. 5 lakh and a processing fee. The accused told the woman that she should pay the money in other form. The accused took the money many times. After realizing the fraud, she later filed a complaint with the police.

The accused were caught after the investigation by the police. Nahas and Sadath were remanded to court. The police are also investigating whether more people were involved in the fraud. Cyber cell officials say that such frauds are on the rise in Kerala despite the massive warning.