Cyber fraudster arrested in Gurgaon for extorting money using Chinese loan app

GURGAON: Gurgaon police arrested a cyber fraudster accused of extorting money in the name of loan recovery through a Chinese loan app. The accused used to receive names and mobile numbers of people who had taken loans through the Chinese app via Telegram. After receiving the details, the accused would make calls to the victims to issue threats and extort money.In return, he was receiving a commission on the amount recovered from the people. After extorting the money, he would block the numbers of the victims.
The accused was arrested from Sector 24 on Saturday in connection with a case registered at Cyber Police Station (East) in Gurgaon under section 318 (4) of BNS. During police interrogation, it was revealed that the accused was working on behalf of cyber fraudsters operating from outside the country. “The accused had been receiving names and mobile numbers of people who had taken loans through a Chinese app via Telegram. He would then call these individuals, threaten them, and extort money. In return, he received a commission from cyber fraudsters. After receiving the money, he would block the victims' mobile numbers,” said ACP (Cyber Crime) Priyanshu Diwan.
The police team recovered a mobile phone and a SIM card from the accused. The investigation is ongoing.
The incident of the Chinese loan app came to light in 2021 after multiple people committed suicide following continuous bullying by recovery agents of the Chinese app. The accused used to threaten people to make their personal photos and videos viral if they failed to make the payment.
The police had busted a call centre in 2021 in Gurgaon from where people were threatened to make payments to the victims of the Chinese loan app. The loan apps were providing small short-term loans of Rs 2000 to Rs 5000 for a week and deducted service charges and interest of Rs 600 to Rs 1200 at the disbursement.
According to the police, the loan app collects personal data of people who had taken loans. The personal details included name, address, mobile number, names, and mobile numbers of relatives, etc., and then they make use of this data to bully and threaten the victims.
Those who were in need of the loan used to download the app from Google Play Store and feed their details like email ID, name, address, and mobile, copy of PAN card, and Aadhar card before applying for the loan. After collecting all details, the callers from the call centre in Gurgaon would make a call to verify the mobile number. After verification, the loan was sanctioned and disbursed after deducting the service charge and interest.
For the loan of Rs 2000, they deducted Rs 600; for a loan of Rs 3000, they deducted Rs 750; and for a loan of Rs 5000, they deducted Rs 1200 as processing fee and interest. The repayment time of the loan was one week.
The accused, through the app, also collected personal data of a person from his mobile phone. The personal data included SMS, location, data from phone storage, calendar, photos, and videos. They used this data to put pressure on the people if they delayed making repayment. “They used to threaten them to make photos and videos viral and share them with their relatives if they failed to make payment,” said the officer.
After the crackdown on such apps and the companies operating them, the accused had moved the operation outside India. Now they engage people here in India as commission agents for the recovery of the amount.