How to check in two minutes whether someone has taken a fraudulent loan in your name

During the Diwali festival, cyber criminals have found new ways of taking fake loans by misusing PAN and Aadhaar cards in the name of online offers. Whether someone has taken an instant loan in your name without telling you can be checked in just two minutes through CIBIL online or a fintech app.

Loans are now approved quickly on digital platforms on the basis of a few documents, and cyber thieves exploit this. Many fintech companies and instant loan apps give loans within minutes on just a PAN and Aadhaar number. Cyber thieves obtain your PAN through various data leaks or fake phishing links. They then misuse the documents by tampering with your photograph or adding a fake mobile number, and take out loans.

This directly affects your credit profile. You never took a loan, yet one shows against your name. Non-payment of its instalments damages your CIBIL score, and later, when you genuinely need a loan, the bank refuses. Often people find out only when banks' recovery officers call them or their CIBIL score suddenly drops.

To check, you must view your CIBIL or credit report. You can see a free annual credit report on the official CIBIL website. You can also click "Check Credit Score" on well-known and safe apps such as OneScore, Paytm, Google Pay or Paisabazaar. Enter your PAN number, mobile number and name there, and complete verification with an OTP.

After the report downloads, open the "Accounts" or "Active Loans" section. It will list all the loans, big and small, and credit cards running in your name. If it shows a loan you did not take, such as an instant loan of Rs 10,000 or Rs 20,000, understand that you have been a victim of cyber fraud.

In that case, first contact the official customer care of the bank or finance company shown in the report, and inform it of the fake loan in writing by email. Then choose the "Raise a Dispute" option on the CIBIL website and file a claim that the loan is not yours. CIBIL will have the bank concerned investigate and remove the loan from your record.

File an official complaint about the fraud on the central government's cyber portal, cybercrime.gov.in, or call the national cyber helpline number 1930 to register the case immediately. Also go to your nearest police station and file an FIR over the misuse of your PAN card. Staying digitally safe during the festival season is the only way to avoid this, so check your CIBIL report today.