A fraud ring is trying to extract money by luring people with loan offers using the name, logo and forged officials’ identities of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The international lender has called on the public to stay alert. The ADB’s Dhaka office announced this in a press release on Monday.
In the release, the ADB made clear that it never provides loans, grants, funds or any other kind of financial assistance directly to individuals. Likewise, it does not ask any individual for personal financial information in exchange for financial assistance, nor request that money be deposited through mobile banking or any other channel.
Citing recently received information, the organisation said fraudsters were creating fake websites, Facebook pages, forged ID cards and other deceptive materials using the identity of the ADB and its officials to mislead ordinary people and extract money, and that it has no connection or involvement with any such activity. The public has been strongly advised to be wary of such bogus loan offers and to avoid any transaction or contact.
The ADB asked that anyone contacted in the name of an ADB loan or financial assistance report it immediately to the relevant law-enforcement authorities. As a long-standing development partner of Bangladesh, it said, it works with the Bangladesh government and various private-sector institutions to implement development projects through transparent and accountable processes. So if anyone offers loans or financial assistance directly at the individual level while claiming to represent the ADB, it is certainly fraud. The public was advised to follow the ADB’s official channels for institutional guidance and details on avoiding such fraud.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report