Loan apps: police teams sent to Delhi, Bengaluru

More teams to be sent to other places

File photo for representational purpose.

The investigation into the “harassment” by app-based instant financing platforms has deepened, with the Hyderabad cybercrime police sending two teams to Delhi and Bengaluru to identify and nab the masterminds.

They will also physically verify the locations of the offices-cum-call centres of the app companies. The teams were sent to the national capital and Bengaluru based on the call detail record of the phone numbers of the loan borrowers, who complained of harassment and humiliation over repayment, a senior officer associated with the investigation told The Hindu .

‘Tracking numbers’

“As of now, there is no concrete progress in the case. Our teams are on the job. They are tracking the phone numbers through which the lenders had communicated with the recipients and their family members,” he said on condition of anonymity.

More teams would be sent to other locations across the country, he added. So far, the Hyderabad police have registered more than nine cases against such companies, of which eight were booked based on the complaint lodged by women from different age groups.

Meanwhile, the Cyberabad and the Rachakonda police have stepped up the investigation by writing to Alphabet Inc., which owns Google, to provide technical hosting details and online payment gateway link-ups of the app-based loan providers.

However, the police said the breakthrough in the case depended on the information shared by Google, PhonePe, Paytm and other online wallets. The Cyberabad police also searched the offices of certain companies in Hyderabad.

“It all depends on the quickness with which Google and others react. We have already launched a comprehensive investigation into this,” another officer said.

While the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been consistently alerting on finance frauds, it is learnt that some microfinance institutions were actively pumping money to loan apps.

These loans are extended to prospective clients in the form of personal loans carrying higher interest rates and are designated as ‘subprime’ loans.

The rate of interest varies from 18% to 40%, sometimes touching 60% to 150%. This, in addition to the processing fees which is paid upfront, when factored in, hiked the interest rates further, the police said.

The police suspect the involvement of some high net worth individuals, including businessmen and money lenders. They have identified more than 60 such loan apps on Google Play Store whose operations are unlawful.

“All appear to be built upon one software development kit [SDK], which is suspected to be provided by a foreign country, mostly Chinese,” the officer said.

Given the number of young people falling prey to the promise of loans online, the police cautioned them to stay away from such apps.