Mumbai: Loan app scammers back in action

Loan app scammers have struck again with a new technique of extorting money from past victims A Thane resident whom the recovery agents badgered into repaying an alreadyrepaid loan in June with relentless blackmailing received money which he said was from lsquoInstant Salaryrsquo an app he never downloaded Experts told midday the racketeers could have extracted the personal data of people who borrowed money via their other apps beforeAccording to the details on Google Play Store Superior Finlease Limited is operating the Instant Salary app which has multiple reviews flagging fraud The 36yearold Thane resident who is in the tailoring business first faced harassment by the recovery agents and was blackmailed after taking a loan in June which he immediately clearedldquoMy personal data including mobile number phonebook details PAN card Aadhaar card and bank account number was compromised in the past On September 29 a mobile loan app Instant Salary sent me an SMS on my mobile numberrdquo he told midday The message read lsquoIt is a matter of regret if you decide to give up this money But Rs 300 off is already credited to your account and automatically reduced when you apply for the loan Hope you like thisrsquo It also had a link the victim said and shared a screenshot of the text with middayThe reviews on Instant Salary app flagging the scamldquoThe text message was shocking so I quickly searched the app on Google Play Store and found a lot of negative reviews about it flagging fraudrdquo he said adding ldquoI then received a call from an international number and the caller told me that my loan repayment is pending I immediately disconnected the call as I knew it was a fraudrdquoAlso Read Mumbai FIR over affidavits prepared in support of Uddhavled Senarsquos factionRs 18000 creditedNext morning he woke up to find his bank account credited with R18000 on behalf of lsquoNew Maa Annapurna Garmentsrsquo ldquoThis was alarming I had not applied for any loan and never downloaded the Instant Salary app on my mobile I fear that my data has been circulated among all the fraudsters and they have started crediting my bank accountrdquo he said The man approached the bank to ask whether the money can be sent back ldquobut the banker told me that it is not possible as the money was transferred through NEFTrdquoldquoI came home and sent an email to the bankrsquos customer care saying lsquoThis is a fraudulent activity I have not requested this money This company is related to extortion on the Play Store It is linked to an app called Instant Salary available on the Play Store They are crediting money without consent and then asking for double repayment Please look into your bank and this particular accountrsquo However the bank has not taken any action yetrdquo he saidThe man then visited the local police station in Thane ldquobut instead of filing an FIR an officer at Kalwa cyber cell told me to close my bank account and change my mobile number as my personal data has already been compromised and can be misusedrdquo he addedHaving gone through the harassment before the businessman transferred all his money to another bank account and closed the one where the money was sent ldquoI donrsquot want any mess so I had to close my bank account Also I deactivated my mobile number that I had been using for the past 10 years and which was with my relatives friends and clients This is hampering my business nowrdquo he saidHes still at riskCyber expert Ritesh Bhatia said ldquoOne fraudster had created multiple instant loan apps for instance A B C Suppose you downloaded app A then your data was compromised You faced harassment from the recovery agent and cleared the loanrdquoldquoSince the fraudsters cannot install app B and C in your handset physically but they can surely misuse the data which they had extracted when you downloaded their app A they will now credit your bank account so that a bigger amount can be extortedrdquo said Bhatia ldquoIn this case what the victim did is right But the fraudsters will surely contact the numbers available in his phonebook and retrieve his new mobile number by applying pressure tacticsrdquo he added The police declined to comment on Kalwa cyber cell officerrsquos suggestion to the victim instead of filing an FIR in the matter A senior police officer in Maharashtra cyber cell said ldquoWe are working on war footing to stop this menace but the fraudsters are operating from different countries and we are finding it difficult to break the multinational chains But what the victim has done is correct at this pointrdquo29 SeptDay the man got a text message from Instant Salary