Mumbai Crime: Two more apps under scanner in loan sharking scam

Two more victims of the instant loan scam have approached midday which has been reporting the racket since 2020 and has highlighted the ordeal of many others While one man had borrowed money from Koko another from Janecoin both appbased lenders They repaid more than what they borrowed but are still being harassed They have filed complaints with the police one at Kurar and another at Pelhar but no one has been apprehended yetA 26yearold resident of Nalasopara East borrowed Rs 5800 in February in the name of his ailing wife and little did he know that their lives were going to turn upside down for a few thousand rupeesFell victim to KokoHe was in need of money after his wife who is still ill underwent a surgery He downloaded Koko app a provider of instant loans on his mobile phone on February 21 It showed that he could get a loan of Rs 50000 He uploaded his wifersquos photo details of her PAN and Aadhaar cards and bank account detailsMorphed photographs and obscene messages were sent to friends and family of both the victims Representation picLater that day his wifersquos bank account was credited with Rs 5800 which was to be repaid by February 27 He failed to pay back on time and on March 4 he received a reminder text On March 7 he got a call from someone threatening to defame his wife if he doesnrsquot repay A few hours later a friend of his called him to inform that he had received a morphed picture of his wife and a text message filled with profanities saying I was not paying back the loanThe man took the phone number and called the person pleading not to message anyone He immediately paid back Rs 10000 Still the harassers spread the photo and the message this time to his mother Scared he rushed to Pelhar police station where an FIR was filed against unknown persons under IPC Sections 384 extortion 420 cheating and others Besides Koko and users of three phone numbers were charged with relevant Sections of the IT ActFell victim to JanecoinA 32yearold Malad resident who works at an imitation jewellery workshop is the latest victim of the instant loan racket He was looking to take out a loan as his salary was delayed in AprilOn April 27 he downloaded the Janecoin loan app and uploaded all the required information including bank details and email ID along with his photo However he received a message stating his application was rejected He then uninstalled the app However his bank account was credited with Rs 1204 twice that day Next day he received Rs 3954 more In total he received Rs 6362On May 2 he received a text message asking for a repayment of Rs 2002 and later he received a link for payment of Rs 2001 immediately He made further payments on May 3 one of Rs 2001 and another of Rs 5000 He paid them all however he was flooded with abusive calls and threats to make his morphed pictures viral if he didnrsquot pay On May 8 his friend received his morphed photoldquoI received Rs 6362 in my account but ended up paying Rs 11004 But they are still asking for more money and sending obscene messages with my morphed pictures to my friends I have filed a police complaint nowrdquo he said Kurar police have filed an FIR against the users of four mobile phone numbers under IPC Sections 420 cheating 500 defamation 504 provoking breach of peace and 506 criminal intimidation and relevant Sections of the IT Act No arrests have been made in both the cases