Several Malayalis in Kuwait have fallen victim to a bank loan scam, losing thousands. The scam involves fraudulent loan offers circulated on social media, promising easy loans at low interest rates.
Kuwait City: Numerous Kerala expatriates in Kuwait have lost thousands of rupees after falling prey to fraudulent loan offers circulated on social media, promising easy loans at low interest rates. The scam operates using hacked Kuwaiti WhatsApp numbers and fake websites designed to resemble legitimate financial companies.
Malayalis are reportedly behind this operation. They employ polite conversation and convincing behavior to gain the trust of potential victims. Many of those who have been deceived are women. The scammers promote loan offers through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, contacting people under the guise of a well-known Kuwaiti finance company. They also use a fake website that mimics the company's legitimate site.
They tell people that they only need to fill out a form and that there's no need to visit the office or provide any documents. After the form is submitted, the scammers inform the victims that the loan has been approved but encountered an issue during transfer to their home country accounts. They claim the funds are frozen and require a certain amount to be paid to release the loan amount.
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They typically charge 100 to 200 Kuwaiti dinars from those who have applied for loans around 1000 dinars. Most of the victims are domestic workers and women. The scammers, believed to be Malayalis, operate from outside Kuwait.
This scam is active not only in Kuwait but also in other Gulf countries and India. The money is transferred to Indian bank accounts, making it difficult to pursue legal action in the Gulf countries. Muhammed, a native of Malappuram, lost 116 Kuwaiti dinars to this scam. He contacted the company after seeing a Facebook advertisement offering loans from 200 to 20,000 dinars at low interest rates.
Muhammed, a domestic worker in Kuwait, was approved for a 4000 dinar loan. The scammers then told him that his CIBIL score was low and asked him to send one month's payment of 116 dinars to fix it. After he sent the money, they contacted him again, claiming they had transferred the 4000 dinar loan to his account, but it had gone to a wrong account due to an issue with his account number. They then demanded half the loan amount upfront from Muhammed. When he refused, they became angry, threatened him, and blocked his number. He then realized he had been scammed and filed a complaint with the Manjeri police through his wife.
Sheeba, who was approved for a one lakh rupee loan, lost 45,000 rupees. She was asked for a salary certificate, but the scammers convinced her that she could get the loan without any documents by depositing 10,000 rupees. They later informed her that the loan was approved but had been sent to a different account due to an error in the provided account number. They threatened legal action if she didn't pay 45,000 rupees immediately, which she did. When she asked for the loan amount, she was met with threats and abuse. Sheeba filed a complaint with the cyber cell in India and later discovered that her bank account had been hacked. Investigations revealed that large sums of money had been transferred to and from her account under various names. The investigation is ongoing.