Hyderabad: A businessman was duped by cyber conmen of Rs 1.73 lakh under the guise of a zero percent loan on the purchase of an insurance policy.

A telecaller who claimed to be from Bajaj Finance Company provided details about the scheme to the victim through WhatsApp and asked him to submit his application for India First Life Insurance Guaranteed Pension Plan.

“They instructed the victim to transfer Rs 80,000 to their Paytm to Yes Bank account. Later, the scammers demanded Rs 56,050 for a health insurance policy to secure additional loan subsidies. Another caller persuaded the man to buy a second health policy needed for processing the loan,” said DCP Cybercrime, D Kavitha.

The man paid a total amount of Rs. 1,73,713 and got duped. The victim filed a complaint with the Cyber Crime police station in Hyderabad and the police are investigating.

The police asked people to always download apps from official websites and app play stores, not any unknown sources. It asked people to apply for loans only through applications related to Non-Banking Financial Corporation (NBFC) or authorized banks.