Gandharva Pardeshi , a 33-year-old Hindi actor living in Powai is the latest to fall prey to cyber fraud in the posh suburb. The victim was scammed of Rs 86,000 under the pretext of a loan settlement. The cyber fraudster managed to gather information of an outstanding loan through the victim’s e-wallet. Powai police have registered a case in the matter and are further pursuing the investigation.
The victim’s account at the bank’s Malad branch from where the money was transferred has since been frozen. According to sources within Powai police, the actor had taken a personal loan from a non-banking finance company (NBFC). When he decided to terminate the loan, he tried to contact the finance company from the number he received from an online search however got no response.
Subsequently, a person introducing himself as ‘Gopal’ called Gandharva Pardeshi from the same number and claiming that he was an employee from the finance company. The impersonator was able to establish credibility with the victim by asking him loan Identification number and stating the exact amount the victim had pending. Following the scammers instructions, the victim transferred Rs 86,000 to an account in Malad with the help of Google Pay in order to pay off the debt.
The victim eventually realised that he had been deceived, following which he visited the finance company’s office and came to know about this elaborate new fraud being perpetuated. The victim filed a written complaint at the Cyber Police Station at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).
The matter was then handed over to the Powai police. “A case has been registered by us and investigations are ongoing in order to uncover the identity of the perpetrator,” said a Powai police official on the condition of anonymity as “it is still an active investigation.”
The police official added, “The fraudster had found out the details of the loan by entering the loan ID in the e-wallet. The account was opened online during the lockdown at the bank’s Malad branch where the money was transferred. The complainant’s account has been frozen the account. The perpetrator of the online crime had also sent a company identity card to the complainant, but it was found to be a forgery.”
The Powai based actor has appeared on numerous television series, including Jodha Akbar and the extremely popular TV show ‘Crime Patrol’. It has been found before the filing of this report that the victim had worked on an episode of the popular crime series which highlighted a harrowing case of cyber fraud. The episode had made an appeal to the viewers to remain vigilant and not to fall prey to online scams.