Bengaluru Woman Faces Extortion Nightmare After Using Online Loan App
A 25-year-old woman from Bengaluru found herself in a harrowing situation after taking an emergency loan from a digital lending application. The case highlights the growing dangers of unregulated online loan platforms that exploit users through sophisticated cybercrime tactics.
Loan App Turns Into Extortion Tool
The victim, identified as Ishita (name changed), a resident of New Thippasandra, initially needed approximately Rs 10,000 for an urgent expense. Instead of approaching family or friends, she opted for a quick digital solution. On January 27, she searched online, discovered a link for the Loan Mitra application, downloaded it, and submitted her banking and personal information.
The app approved only Rs 4,500 and disbursed merely Rs 2,700 to her account after deducting various charges and interest, providing a seven-day repayment window. Ishita claims she repaid the full Rs 4,500 before the deadline. However, the application then credited the same amount to her account again without her authorization and began demanding repayment.
Threats and Harassment Escalate
When Ishita explained she had not applied for a second loan and offered to return the unauthorized funds, the perpetrators initiated a campaign of intimidation. They bombarded her with threatening phone calls and began morphing her photographs in obscene ways.
Fearing social embarrassment and damage to her reputation, she started complying with their financial demands. By February 12, she had transferred over Rs 1.1 lakh through digital payment applications to 16 different UPI IDs provided by the accused.
Family and Friends Drawn Into the Ordeal
After exhausting her own resources, Ishita borrowed money from relatives and acquaintances to meet the extortion demands. When she finally informed the fraudsters she had no more funds, they intensified their harassment with abusive messages and continuous calls, forcing her to switch off her phone.
The criminals then created a WhatsApp group, adding her family members and friends from her contact list, and shared the morphed photos and videos. They also directly contacted her connections, pressuring them to tell Ishita to repay the supposed loan.
How the Fraudsters Gained Access
A senior police officer explained that after downloading the app, Ishita had to grant permissions for it to access her contacts, photos, and videos to proceed with the loan application. The fraudsters exploited this access to her personal data, trapping her with promises of quick, documentation-free loans.
The police have registered a case under the Information Technology Act and BNS Section 318 (cheating). The victim provided investigators with 13 mobile numbers used for the harassment calls, aiding the ongoing investigation into this disturbing cybercrime.
