Loan app scams in Bengaluru have increased due to lack of due diligence from digital service providers
Loan app scams in Bengaluru have increased due to lack of due diligence from digital service providers
A 37-year-old businessman from Yelahanka recently approached the North East Cyber Crime Police to report five mobile numbers were not only spamming him with calls, but also his trading app to extort ₹4,800 had reached.
The victim said that a person, who called her to inform her about a loan app Rs., started harassing her, her contacts and her family members to repay the loan which she never took. He said in his complaint that he never downloaded the app.
The businessman is not alone. Loan app scams seem to be a new category of cybercrime. It has topped the list of cases reported in the city recently.
Senior police officials said that at least one in 10 cybercrime cases in the city is related to harassment by the loan app. Despite awareness and measures to reduce this menace, it continues unabated.
The methodology is simple: Hundreds of quick loan apps are freely available on the Google Playstore. Anyone who downloads the app is providing access to their mobile phone. A senior police officer said those who have phones can create havoc.
However, even people who haven’t downloaded any of these apps can still get messages, as anyone who has their number in their contact list may have downloaded such an app.
The investigation of these cases also faces great challenges. “Most of the executives of these apps use WhatsApp calls and laptops to communicate. Unless mobile phones or direct calls are used, it is almost impossible to access IP addresses to track them,” said an official involved in multiple investigations into loan app scams.
The trend began two years ago with the Chinese instant loan app shutting down across the country, including by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in the state. However, soon the local cyber crooks caught on to the trend and loan apps also sprung up, posing a challenge to the police.
Police officers also blame a lack of due diligence by service providers, allowing these apps to mushroom without due diligence. “Even when the particular app is flagged off by the security agencies, the response from the service provider is poor and silent. Many of the apps we flagged are still present on the Google Playstore, causing more people to be harassed and duped,” the official said.
Anoop A Shetty, DCP, North East Division, “The increasing number of cyber crimes related to loan apps is a matter of concern and a coordinated effort is needed to effectively tackle the issue.”
The City Cyber Crime Police has come out with a comic strip to inform the public and create awareness about the dangers posed by loan apps. The Reserve Bank of India has also brought out a booklet. Raju and the 40 ThievesFor the same, but loan apps keep harassing and defrauding thousands every day.
Some recent crimes reported ,
Case 1: R Harish of Bashankari took an instant loan of ₹58,000 and repaid ₹1.9 lakh after downloading the loan app. But every day he was getting threatening messages and abuses demanding more money.
Case 2: A 19-year-old girl with her family in porn videos and contact list sought to repay a loan which she had never borrowed.
Case 3: A link came on the mobile of Rishikesh Radhakrishna, a 20 year old student of KR Puram. He accidentally clicked on it while deleting the link. Soon Alexandra Loan, Kangaroo Loan and Loan Seva App were downloaded on his mobile and ₹45,000 was deducted from his bank account and transferred to three accounts. The accused wrote “rape” on his PAN card copy and demanded payment by sending it to his friends and family contacts.
safety tips :
Use safe and secure websites
Do not access any unknown links
Do not download any unauthorized app
Ensure strong passwords for your device and social media accounts
Call 112 to report Cyber Crime Incident Report (CIR) facility so that bank accounts of suspects can be frozen in case of bank account fraud or data theft.