Beware : Two ‘insurance agents’ held for cheating Rs 1.43 lakh using ‘magic pen’

Two men were arrested for allegedly cheating a person of lakhs by posing as executives of a private insurance company.

According to police, they would target those clients whose premiums were due. They would make the clients sign cheques using a “magic pen” after which the amount written on the cheque would be erased and replaced with a bigger amount, police said.

“Praveen Kumar and Hukam Chand were apprehended last week following investigations into a complaint by one Masood Ahmed who was cheated of Rs 1.43 lakh by the duo,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Chhaya Sharma.

“They would call clients whose premiums were due and visit them to collect the cheque. They would make the client write the amount with a pen containing a particular type of ink. Once they got the cheque, they would expose it to heat. As soon as the ink gets warm, the details filled in the cheque would disappear. Thereafter, the duo would fill in a new name, date and amount and withdraw the money from the client’s account,” said Sharma.

The complainant was approached by the duo on June 26. They took a cheque for Rs 7,324 from him. Later, he was informed by his bank that Rs 1.43 lakh has been withdrawn by one Anil Dhama.

Police obtained the CCTV footage from IndusInd Bank in Vasant Kunj from where the money was withdrawn.

On Friday, Kumar was apprehended from Lalita Park in Laxmi Nagar based on a tip-off. Kumar’s questioning led police to Chand, who was also arrested.

Kumar and Chand were earlier working as tele-marketing executives at a company and had allegedly planned to cheat people who have accounts with different insurance companies and whose premiums were due.

Source - FE.com