In June this year, a complaint was lodged at the IFSO unit of the Delhi Police’s Special Cell by a woman alleging that some persons were extorting and blackmailing the public at large on the pretext of providing instant loans by getting access to their mobile data illegally through a Chinese loan app called “Cash Advance”.
The complainant had taken a loan from Cash Advance, which she repaid in time. But after repaying the loan, she started getting threat calls and messages on WhatsApp from Cash Advance employees.
The police’s subsequent investigation revealed a total of 102 complaints from the Delhi region and 1,977 from all over India against the same app.
The scammers operated by offering short-term loans at seemingly low interest rates through the Cash Advance mobile application.
However, once the victims installed the app, the gang illegally accessed their personal data.
After providing the loan through digital means, the gang drastically increased the interest rates, even after the borrowers had repaid the principal amount. To extract more money from the victims or their relatives, the gang resorted to threatening tactics, including sharing manipulated pictures of the borrowers.
The gang members had registered fake companies and opened bank accounts to circulate approximately Rs 350 crore, out of which Rs 83 crore were disbursed as micro-loans after deducting commissions.
One of the accused, Nitin, who had previously worked for a Chinese loan app company, was familiar with the loan apps’ operations and recovery processes.
This type of cybercrime was not isolated, as numerous cases have emerged across India in which people have been defrauded of large sums of money by high-tech Chinese cybercriminals.
In another case in the North district of Delhi Police, 18 people were arrested for running a fake call centre and scamming people with low-interest loans through a Chinese mobile application. They even used explicit threats and manipulated photos to coerce the victims into paying.
Chinese cyber gangs have devised a new strategy to defraud Indians through fake loan applications available on the Play Store.
“These apps request access to the user’s personal data upon installation, and after providing the loan, they deduct processing fees and impose high-interest rates and penalties, leading to repayment amounts reaching up to 200 percent of the loan,” said a senior police official.
When individuals fail to repay, the call centers, often based in neighboring countries like Nepal, resort to leaking the victims’ personal data and making abusive comments to their contacts, as the loan app has access to all the victim’s contacts and photos.
“To receive payments, the fraudsters need Indian bank accounts, and they find vulnerable and greedy individuals in India to help them set up these accounts,” said the official.
As such fraudulent activities continue to victimize gullible Indians, authorities are urging caution and vigilance when dealing with loan applications and are taking actions to apprehend and prosecute the culprits behind these scams.
(Shekhar Singh can be reached at shekhar.s@ians.in)
2023072947149
