Hyderabad:Authorities are probing a 'loan app' scam after a 22-year-old man from Jiaguda Ganganagar in Rajasthan allegedly ended his life as he was being harassed by Chinese cyber criminals over payment of the interest for the loan they provided him online.
Rajkumar Yadav, a resident of Jiaguda Ganganagar, took a loan of Rs 12,000 from a 'loan app'. He committed suicide 11 days ago after being harassed by phone calls and SMSs sent to him by representatives of loan companies for not paying interest on time. The suicide of the youth 11 days ago has taken the lid off the loan scam run by the Chinese cyber criminals who are said to have approached an estimated 4.5 lakh people with the loan offer.
Those who respond to them are being transferred cash ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. Even in the unresponsive people's accounts, they had been depositing between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1.50 lakh without their consent. A few days ago, loan companies transferred Rs 50,000 to the account of a nursing student living in Musheerabad in Hyderabad.
As she tried to find the person who sent her the money, someone called her and threatened her to pay the principal and interest of Rs 80 thousand within a week. She said she had nothing to do with the money which had been transferred to her account but the caller did not listen to her and sent her photos which were morphed as nudes to her friends. Police officials estimate that they have opened virtual accounts in a corporate bank for this purpose and that they will lend to at least 75,000 people in two months. Authorities are trying to gather more evidence. Authorities are also trying to issue Red Corner notices through Interpol if the culprits are found.
Also read: Cybercriminals hack mobile, relieves man of Rs 25 lakhs
