Loan app fraud: 2 held from Karnataka for ‘duping, defaming’ man

The complainant, police said, took a loan of Rs 2.93 lakh last year from an online portal. He was then allegedly contacted by the accused who forced him to pay an additional amount of Rs 2.10 lakh. They pressured him by morphing his pictures. “After deducting the processing fees and the interest amount, the complainant received Rs 1,95,390 as the loan,” said an officer.

On February 9, he received a call. “The caller started demanding more money but when the complainant refused to pay, he then morphed his pictures and sent them to his friends and relatives,” the officer added. The complainant was allegedly threatened that the pictures would be uploaded on social media.

“He had taken a loan of Rs  2,93,700. Owing to the threats, he ended up paying Rs 5,03,857, which is Rs 2.10 lakh more than what he had taken,” said assistant police inspector Prakash Patil of LT Marg police station.

When he was asked for more money, the complainant approached the police. A case was filed under sections 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating), and section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code, and sections 66 (C), 66 (D), and 67 (A) of the IT Act.

During the investigation, cops found the calls were made using a number registered in Madhya Pradesh.  “But the location showed that the user was in Karnataka’s Bijapur. As we investigated further, it was learned the culprits were using 22 different SIM cards and 17 bank accounts to commit the fraud, the officer underlined.