Published on: June 02, 2024 10:38 IST
Financial influencer and chartered accountant Anupam Gupta has become the latest victim of identity theft and loan fraud. Gupta discovered that his name and address were used to secure a loan without his knowledge, leading to aggressive demands for repayment from Mobikwik agents.
Gupta shared his ordeal on X, posting screenshots of his CIBIL report which revealed a ₹ 30,000 personal loan taken from Lendbox, an online peer-to-peer lending platform, using his credentials. “From 28th April onwards, the calls and WhatsApp pings started. @MobiKwik collection agents said repay the loan. I said I have taken no loan. When I asked for details, here is the ledger they sent me,” said Gupta, who hosts the investing podcast ‘Paisa Vaisa’.
Despite his protests, Gupta stated that the agents continued their demands and provided him with a UPI number that received the loan amount, which did not belong to him. Subsequently, he filed a police complaint.
Gupta admitted that he had received a CIBIL notification about a loan a month prior but had ignored it. “Folks, please be careful. My mistake was that when I got the CIBIL notification, I did not pay attention. I should have flagged it off then and there. But I didn’t. And now I have to face these calls,” he cautioned his followers.
In response, Mobikwik has halted all collection calls related to the disputed loan and is working to resolve the issue. However, Gupta’s case is not isolated. Another chartered accountant, Piyush Sinha, reported a similar experience in April when a loan default appeared in his CIBIL report from Mobikwik, despite not taking any such loan. Efforts to resolve the issue with Lendbox, the originating platform, proved unfruitful as they maintained the loan was processed by Mobikwik.
These incidents underscore the alarming rise of identity theft and loan fraud, affecting even those well-versed in financial matters.