The shadow cast by illegal loan apps and digital loan sharks has once again fallen on Mumbai, with two cases of cyber blackmail and harassment being reported in the city. FIRs have been registered at the JJ Marg and Bandra police stations after two women alleged that unidentified loan app operators defamed and extorted them using morphed pornographic images.

According to police sources, in both cases, the complainants were falsely accused of borrowing money via mobile loan applications. When the women denied any such transactions, they were subjected to abusive recovery calls, followed by doctored, obscene photos featuring their faces being circulated to their contacts through WhatsApp and internet calls.

This alarming modus operandi reflects a resurgence of the predatory tactics that plagued the city between 2022 and 2023 when rogue loan apps granted microloans and resorted to digital extortion, public shaming, and blackmail for recovery.