Bajaj Finance Limited cautions customers against fraudsters offering mandatory insurance policies for availing loan

by Priya J

New Delhi, August, 2021: Bajaj Finance Limited, the lending and investment arm of Bajaj Finserv, cautions its customers and the public at large to stay vigilant against fake loans offered by fraudsters in exchange for an insurance policy purchase.

Fraudsters are duping the public:

(i) by luring them to compulsorily buy life insurance as a pre-condition to avail a loan

(ii) by impersonating to be a representative of Bajaj Finance Ltd. and misguiding the public to buy an insurance policy by stating that the premium amount shall be some percent of the loan amount desired by potential borrowers. 

The modus operandi is mostly as under:

(a)      The insurance policy is used as a bait by the fraudster who ensures that the victim receives all insurance documents from the insurance company

(b)       The Fraudster stays in contact with the victim for a long time and cites excuses for the delay in the loan disbursal process

(c)        Most insurance policies have a 90 daysfree look period for insurance policy, where the customer can cancel the policy, and the premium will be refunded. After the said free look period is over, the fraudster will stop answering the victim

(d)      It is thereafter that the victim realises about the suspicious conduct of fraudster and reaches out to Bajaj Finance Ltd.

Bajaj Finance Ltd., has alerted its customer through its social media handles to not to fall for such traps by fraudsters. The post states:

'Loan lenekeliye life insurance policy purchase karnazaroorihai'. Aur ye jhoothai!. Always remember that Bajaj Finance Ltd., does not require you to make a compulsory purchase of any other products to avail a loan. Don't fall into such traps!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bajaj_Finance/status/1430494743247478784

Bajaj Finance Ltd., cautions its customers and the public at large that any person in need of loans should approach its nearest branch or check the company's official website at www.bajajfinserv.in, and never engage with any unofficial/unknown intermediaries/unidentified fraudsters. Through various channels, the Company is driving awareness initiatives against such fraudulent incidents and has mentioned clear directives on the loan availing and sanctioning process.

Bajaj Finance earlier launched '#SavdhaanRaheinSafeRahein,' a public awareness campaign across all its digital and social media platforms, to educate people on various financial fraud risks. The Company also released an animated infomercial campaign on YouTube called NajiNaji: Online Fraud Se Bachein to spread the message around the growing incidences of financial fraud.

Apart from giving the message to its customers, Bajaj Finance Ltd. has also shared some safety tips for the public/customers to stay protected, to name a few:

• Always be careful while speaking with unknown callers offering instant loans
• Bajaj Finance Ltd. does NOT require compulsory purchase of any other product as a condition for availing loan by an eligible customer. Hence, exercise caution against any such calls/communication
• Never transfer any money to strangers/unknown callers offering lucrative deals and cashback
• Never share your mobile number, EMI card number, One Time Password (OTP), PAN/Aadhaar details, Address proof over calls/social media pages/internet/e-mails
• Always verify Bajaj Finance related loan offers/social media IDs/website links on www.bajajfinserv.in or directly from the nearest branch
• Never tag fraud accounts on social media for any of your queries. Follow only our official pages/accounts
• Refrain from downloading any third-party mobile apps or documents from any clickbait links sent on social media pages, e-mails, or SMS from unknown sources

In addition to the cautionary message (cautionary-notice-new.pdf (bajajfinserv.in)on the website, Bajaj Finance Ltd., keeps alerting the public on social media pages through publishing cautionary information to help them understand the modus operandi of various scams ranging from social media frauds, phishing attacks, and clickbait fraud to ensure that customers stay alert and protect their money.

To know more about staying protected from financial frauds, click here - https://www.bajajfinserv.in/insights/fraud-awareness.

About Bajaj Finance Limited:Bajaj Finance Limited, the lending arm of the Bajaj Finserv group, is one of the most diversified NBFCs in the Indian market, catering to more than 50 million customers across the country. Headquartered in Pune, the company's product offering includes Consumer Durable Loans, Lifestyle Finance, Digital Product Finance, Personal Loans, Loan against Property, Small Business Loans,  Wallet, Co-branded Credit Cards, Two-wheeler and Three-wheeler Loans, Commercial lending/SME Loans, Loan against Securities and Rural Finance which includes Gold Loans and Vehicle Refinancing Loans along with Fixed Deposits.  Bajaj Finance Limited prides itself on holding the highest credit rating of AAA/Stable for long term borrowing, A1+ for the short term borrowing, and FAAA/Stable for FD program. It has also been credited for Long term issuer credit rating of BB+/Stable and short-term rating of B by S&P Global ratings for ECB.