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Instant loan app scam: 17 arrested in Telangana, Delhi, Haryana after 3 die by suicide

According to The Hindu, 17 persons have been arrested in Hyderabad and Cyberabad in connection with an app-based quick microloan lending fraud. Eleven people were arrested in Delhi and Gurugram, six in Hyderabad, and 23 cases were filed against the fast loan companies.


The hoax was exposed after three persons committed suicide in recent weeks as a result of alleged harassment from these organisations' debt collectors. Liofang Technologies Private Limited, Hotful Technologies Private Limited, Pinprint Technologies, and Nabloom Technologies Private Limited personnel were arrested by the Hyderabad police in searches in Hyderabad and Gurugram. All of these businesses are based in Bengaluru.




In both Hyderabad and Gurugram, several call centres were established, from which callers harassed those who had taken out loans. According to the authorities, more than 1,000 persons were engaged in three such contact centres, earning between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 each month.


Meanwhile, the Cyberabad police had arrested six people, including Sarath Chandra, an engineer with a degree from the United States who controlled two money-lending companies. According to NDTV, Chandra was the CEO of Onion Credit Private Limited and Cred Fox Technologies Private Limited, as well as developing and selling loan apps to businesses in Bengaluru. Dhana Dhan, Cash Mama, Cash Up, Cash Bus, Mera Loan, and Loan Zone were among the mobile apps available.


At least 60 such lending apps were available on Google Play Store, according to the Telangana DGP's office, and were not authorised or recognised by the Reserve Bank of India.


In connection with the scandal, the police have frozen 75 bank accounts totaling Rs 423 crore. Officials stated there were roughly 30 mobile apps involved in the scam, and the companies charged up to 35% interest.


The complainant who prompted the Cyberabad police action stated that he had taken out a Rs 30,000 loan over the course of eight months. Despite the fact that he had only got Rs 20,000 after deductions, he had to pay Rs 29,000. However, the loan was not cleared at that time, and he was told he needed to pay Rs 8,634 extra, according to the complainant. The corporations began harassing him and his family, he claimed.


The organisations segregated the clients into several buckets and used different tactics to recover the loan, according to Cyberabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar. "The fewer the days after the due date, the kinder the therapy; otherwise, the treatment will be harsh, threatening, and abusive," he explained. "They also gain access to the contacts of the customers' relatives and friends and send them defamatory WhatsApp messages about the defaulter."


According to The Indian Express, officials have also discovered linkages to China and Indonesia. "These calls received orders from their heads in Indonesia," claimed Anjani Kumar, a police commissioner in Hyderabad. "It looks that the entire operation of these loan apps is managed by Chinese citizens. This was also revealed during a probe into the multi-billion rupee colour prediction gambling app fraud, in which crores of rupees were transferred to shell companies posing as NBFCs."


The Reserve Bank of India warned citizens on Wednesday not to fall for such loan apps. "These sites charge exorbitant interest rates and other hidden charges, employ unreasonable and harsh recovery tactics, and abuse agreements to access data on borrowers' mobile phones," the central bank stated.


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