Get credit card made, dupe her of ₹5 lakh

An assistant professor of the Delhi Technological University was duped of ₹5 lakh by online fraudsters who accessed her Aadhaar details, which she had submitted to a bank for KYC process. Three persons, including a Nigerian national, have been arrested in the case, the police said on Sunday.

The trio allegedly obtained a credit card on the basis of a photocopy of the Aadhaar. They forged her signature and used her photo, copied from her Facebook account, to apply for the card, said the police.

The accused allegedly booked travel tickets with the card and later cancelled the bookings and got the money reverted to their desired bank accounts, said the police.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) Jatin Narwal said that Dinesh Thapa, a resident of Darjeeling, was the first to be arrested in the case. “His interrogation led to the arrest of the Nigerian national, Benjamin, and his live-in partner Elizabeth. Twelve mobile phones, 16 SIM cards, 8 debit cards and 2 laptops were seized from them,” said Mr. Narwal.

“The assistant professor, Poonam Singh, was unaware that her documents had been used fraudulently until she received a message from the bank about some money transactions,” said Mr. Narwal.

“The credit card was issued without verifying the account holder’s residential details and her signature,” he said, adding that the accused did not provide Ms. Singh’s mobile number or address in the application.

“They mentioned CSD canteen Air Force station as the address for the delivery of the credit card, knowing that the courier boy will not be allowed to enter the place and he will contact the applicant on the mobile number,” said Mr. Narwal.

He added that the delivery of the credit card was done in the roadside in Dwarka Mor.

On January 5, Ms. Singh received a text message from the bank about deduction of ₹25,000 from her account. “She called up the bank and was told that the transactions were made through a credit card. But she told them she had never applied for any credit card,” said Mr. Narwal.The assistant professor filed a police complaint and a cheating case was registered at the Maurice Nagar police station.

“We identified and arrested the suspects through technical investigation,” said Mr. Narwal.

Mr. Thapa’s previous job was to find customers and prepare their credit cards for the bank on contract basis.The role of some bank officials are also under scanner.