Instant Loans: Fraud Stalks Borrowers’ Friends and Relatives | News from Vadodara

Vadodara: Pruthvi Shah (name changed) has been rocked by an abusive phone call he received regarding the collection of a loan he never took.
After a brief conversation, Shah was informed that it was his friend who had taken the loan which he was not repaying and also that if his friend did not return they would send indecent messages to everyone in the contact list Shah’s telephone numbers. Shocked, Shah approached the cybercrime police.

“This is a modus operandi that cyber frauds in the state use and some people have already been victims of this Chinese instant loan fraud. over the past few months,” said Hardik Makadia, ACP (cybercrime).
According to the cops, these cyber frauds with a possible link to the Chinese scammers first entice people to avail instant paperless loans of small amounts ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000.
“Those who need money fall into the trap and agree to take the loan which is granted at 3% daily interest. The lender is asked to download a mostly Chinese app,” Makadia told TOI.
Once the app is downloaded to the phone, the accused has access to the person’s contact list. After a week, the accused begins to claim repayment of the loan with interest. The scammers then send abusive messages to the lender and also start contacting everyone on their contact list.
“They send indecent messages and even make abusive calls to friends and family members of the victim and the character murders the lents portraying them as cheaters or even rapists. The gang even accesses the victim’s mobile cameras and records videos. It is a blackmail tactic to extort money,” Makadia added.

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