Financial scams continue in Sikkim, several more duped

CID ASKS PEOPLE TO BE ALERT AGAINST ECONOMIC FRAUD
GANGTOK, 28 Jan: People in Sikkim continue to be drawn in by the lure of easy money and susceptible to fantastical claims of financial windfalls. While the nature of financial scams associated with non banking financial companies such as Tina Finlease and Bharosa are not heard of much nowadays, it does not mean that there are no longer similar agencies operating in the state. It’s only that the mode of operation has changed from ‘companies’ giving way to individuals who lure people. While the Reserve Bank of India and also the CID have been issuing advisories regularly to alert the public, several people have succumbed to the temptation and have been caught up by the intrigue of a slick hand.
The Crime Branch of the Sikkim Police has registered a number of complaints from individuals in the state who have lost significant amounts of money to SMS, Email and lottery scams. In such kinds of economic fraud a “prospective” client receives an SMS message on his/ her mobile phone or even over email that he was won a lottery, usually a foreign based lottery which is either in dollars or pounds. If the person bites the bait, s/he is then asked to deposit a certain amount of money in an account for transfer of the award money to India and finally into his bank account.
In one such case, a woman in Gangtok received a message informing her that she had won 1 lakh pounds of MNS lottery. When she called the number from which the message had come, a foreign-accented voice asked her to deposit Rs. 25,000 into a bank account at ICICI Bank. A few days later, she was asked to deposit another Rs. 49,000 for transfer of the money into her account. A total of Rs. 74,000 was thus deposited into the account by her.
Finally, she got a call asking her to deposit a further Rs. 2.25 lakh into the same account.
This made her suspicious and the CID was approached. Thereafter investigation by the CID with the help of ICICI bank officials traced the bank account to New Delhi. This was a joint account opened by two men by the name of Amit Pal and Parag Rastogi; their addresses were also traced by the CID as given in the bank account. CID officials from Gangtok visited the address only to find a basement instead of a company office and further a permanent address of the two acquired from the bank also led to a dead end. However what the police have done is frozen the joint account into which the money was deposited. Photographs of the two accused have been circulated by the police throughout and also put up on its portal under the Wanted list. A case has meanwhile been registered under Sections 420 and 120 B IPC.
In another case, a woman was informed through an SMS that she had won a Rs. 26 lakh lottery. When she called the number from which the SMS had been sent she was asked to deposit Rs. 99,000 in an account of a bank outside the state. The money was soon deposited and thereafter the mobile phone she had been calling kept returning switched off.
In another instance, a local boy deposited Rs. 1.78 lakh into a bank branch located in Jharkhand on being informed that he had won a lottery. The police did freeze the account but it was too late, the money had been withdrawn.
There are some fortunate enough to get their money back though. A woman from Tumin, responding to an advertisement placed in a local Nepali paper had deposited Rs. 30,000. The advertisement promised easy loans from Rs. 2 to Rs. 20 lakh. She was asked to deposit the amount in the Agra branch of the Punjab & Sind Bank. However, when she was asked for more she immediately approached the CID which froze the account of the person on the other end. Later the woman went to court which directed return of her money.
However, not all are as fortunate. As per reports, there are numerous such cases in Sikkim where people continue to be duped by the scamsters who promise easy money. The RBI itself is informed to have several complaints from individuals. Such scams are difficult to trace and it is even more difficult for the police to make arrests as the perpetrators disappear by the time people realize what is happening. In such a situation it is best to stay alert. The emails and SMSes continue to come in with amazing regularity.