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Eight persons were recently arrested by cops in Maharashtra's Thane on charges of cheating automobile buyers who had defaulted on vehicle loan payments. As per a PTI report, the accused extorted money from loan defaulters by posing as recovery agents.
It is reported that the accused managed to gain access to a list of auto loan defaulters and then approach them with fake IDs, posing as recovery agents with fake documents to further add credence to the sinister charade. If a loan defaulter was unable to pay the amount demanded, the accused used to seize their vehicles.
The PTI report, quoting police officials, cite one instance when a person was asked to pay ₹25,000 and when he couldn't, his autorickshaw was seized.
In all, as many as 11 motorcycles, two autorickshaw, 10 mobile phones and a laptop was seized from the recovered from the accused. The total value of all of these are said to be around ₹4.80 lakh.
The entire incident once again shows the need to be vigilant with all loan and loan-repayment processes to avoid being cheated. While paying EMIs on time is a solid financial habit, in case of a rare default, it is advisable to visit a bank branch in person to either pay the amount with penalty or at least discuss a possible alternate solution. In case of recovery agents, many security experts suggest double-checking their credentials before revealing any personal or financial details.