Mumbai, August 9: Even influential politicians fall victim to scammers in the realm of cybercrime, which is a tremendous leveller. An unnamed individual repeatedly called and texted BJP MLA Ashish Shelar, demanding that he pay back a debt for which he had served as a guarantee. Shelar has filed a harassment complaint with the police in this matter. Shelar has stated that he has never taken out a loan or provided a guarantee for someone else's debt repayment.

The lawmaker said that over the last two weeks, he had received a barrage of calls and texts from someone posing as an employee of a loan app, and that his office had filed a criminal complaint at the Bandra police station on Tuesday. The caller persisted in asking for the debt to be returned, but the caller didn't make any threats, he added. Loan App Fraud in Ahmedabad: Failed To Pay Borrowed Money Back, Scammers Video Call Borrower, Make Morphed Nude Photos oh Him; Two Arrested

On Sunday, he received an SMS asking him to repay a loan that a borrower had taken out, along with a link to complete the repayment online and the note, "Ignore if paid." According to a police official, the police station's cyber crime unit is working on the complaint to find the messages' source. The number from which the calls originated has been placed on tracking mode,  he added. Fake Loan App Scam: Mumbai Police Arrests 4 for Duping People through Fake Lending Apps.

After receiving a complaint from Navnath Satpute (41) of Shelar's office personnel, the case was opened. According to the complaint, Shelar was asked to make an emergency payment of Rs 7,700 to cover the outstanding loan balance. A case has been opened against unnamed individuals under the Information Technology Act and parts of the Indian Penal Code that deal with impersonation, cheating, and attempt to commit crime.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 01, 2023 03:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).