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A blackmail scam is using instant loan apps to entrap and humiliate people across India and other countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. At least 60 Indians have killed themselves after being abused and threatened. An undercover investigation from an international media agency has exposed those profiting from this deadly scam in China and India.
Those who took their lives were in the range of 20-30 years and included an award-winning musician, a fireman, a young mom, a father of two daughters, a grandfather and four teenagers. The agency reported that most who took their lives to speak about their loans.
How it Works?
Among hundreds of applications that offer hassle-free loans to individuals, several of them are predatory. Upon downloading them these apps gain access to contacts and photographs in users phones as well as ID Cards to use them to extort the borrowers. If customers do not repay the loans on time these apps share the information with call centres who then using their devices harass and humiliate people into repaying the loan.
This technique was revealed by a debt recovery agent to reveal how it functioned. Having gained the trust of manager Vishal Chaurasia at Callflex Corporation, a company hired to recover debt, he spoke to him.
Chaurasia revealed that once somebody took a loan, the apps gave access to the contacts in their phones to Callflex Corporation and if the borrower missed any parameters, the company began to harass them and their contacts. He said that his employees could say anything to the customers as long as they got their loans repaid. The customer then pays out of shame. You will find at least one person in his contact list who can destroy his life.
The Case of Bhoomi Sinha
Mumbai-based property lawyer and widow living with her daughter Bhoomi Sinhaa borrowed a total of 47000 rupees from various loan apps in 2021 as she waited for some expenses to come through. While the money arrived almost instantly, a lot of it got deducted from the charges. About a week later, she was required to repay, which she could not. So, she took a loan from another app.
The debt and interest kept spiralling until Sinhaa owed about 20 lakh rupees to loan apps. Sinhaa also reeled threats and psychological torture for months. She was receiving calls from recovery agents as debts mounted. The calls were nasty and slammed Sinhaa even after paying the loan. and was also accused of lying, and she received 200 calls per day.
The call agents did not stop there; the abuse escalated, and they knew where she lived and, as a sign of warning, sent a dead corpse picture. They also tried to message her contact list comprising 486 numbers and dubbed her a thief and prostitute, and threatened to tarnish her daughter’s reputation.
Sinhaa then tried to borrow more money from her family, friends, and several other apps, a total of 69 apps. Even after paying the debts, Asan Loan, in particular, did not stop calling her. They sent a badly photoshopped naked pornographic picture of hers to all of her contacts. The pictures were sent to lawyers, the elderly, neighbours, architects and government officials.
She said, “That message actually stripped me naked in front of the entire world. I lost my dignity, morality, and respect in a second. It tarnished the core of me, and like if you join a broken glass, there will be cracks on it. As of today, she has no friends.
The Case of a Civil Servant
Kirni Mounika was a 24-year-old civil servant who had borrowed money from 55 loan apps, What began as a 1,0000-rupee loan spiralled into thrice the amount. When she took her life, she had repaid over 3,00000 rupees. The Loan apps harassed her, threatened her and began to massage her contacts. She was the only student in her school to have a government job. A sister to three brothers, she left for office in the usual way the day she took her life three years ago.
Her father was a successful farmer who was ready to fund her masters in Australia. After she died, her phone rang and was answered by her father: “They told us she had to pay.” We told them she was dead.
Possible Links to China
Another call centre agent who worked for loan recovery for another organisation told international media that managers instructed the staff to abuse and threaten people, claiming that he never made such threats. Everyone has a reputation to maintain in front of the family. No one is going to spoil that reputation for the measly sum of 5000 rupees.”
Once the payment is done, they would move to the next client threatening to take lives, However, none of the agents took them seriously. Once the suicides were complete, they called their boss, Parshuram Takve, to seek advice. Take, who has a ruthless reputation, said Do what you are told to do and make recoveries. However, he was not running the business alone. The agent said that while running, the software interface would suddenly switch to Chinese.
Takve was married to a Chinese woman, Liang Tian Tian, and they started a loan recovery business Jiyaling in Pune. In December 2020, they were arrested for harassment, and two years later, they were charged with extortion and intimidation. They are currently on the run. According to a Chinese businessman, Li Xiang who was running loan apps in India, China, Mexico and Colombia.
He told the media agency that posing as investors, We are still operating now. We just do not let Indians know that we are a Chinese company. In 2021, his company was raided by Indian police who were investigating the harassment by the loan apps and their accounts were frozen.
He claimed that there were 3,000 staff in several companies across India, Pakistan and Bangladesh who were providing post-loan services. He said, “If you do not repay, we may add you to WhatsApp, and on the third or fourth day, if you do not pay or your contacts pay, we have specified and detailed procedures. We access his call records and capture lots of information. Basically, it is like the person is naked in front of us.”
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