Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance company data stolen; man duped of Rs. 46K

Mumbai: Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) Police have booked an unidentified accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act for data theft from Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Company Limited and duping one of its customers of Rs 46,000. According to the complaint, a 52-year-old man was lured with a bonus at the time of renewal of his insurance policy and asked to pay Rs 46,000 as premium. No arrests have been made yet.

According to police, last month, Mumbai resident Anant Dashrath Kothekar received a call from a man claiming to be an insurance agent associated with the Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance company's renewal department. In the course of the phone call, the 'agent' told Kothekar his insurance premium was due and he was eligible for an upgrade. When Kothekar evinced interest in the offer, the 'agent' asked him to wire Rs 46,000 to an account via mobile banking in order to reserve his spot for the offer.

Kothekar obliged and wired the money but the confirmation he was hoping to receive never came. Realising that he had been duped, he approached the insurance company, only to learn that the company had not authorised any of its personnel to provide offers on premium renewals. A police inspector said on condition of anonymity, an internal enquiry revealed that the insurance company's data had been stolen last month by unidentified person/s, who then obtained access to the firm's client files and used them to con its customers.

A case was registered against unidentified person/s and they were booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for cheating and the Information Technology Act. The company officials and police are trying to ascertain if any more people have been similarly conned.

Source: The Free Press Journal