Cyber Crime
Beware Before Taking Loan From That Quick Loan App! Indian Agencies Are Looking For This Chinese Mastermind Behind These Fraud Apps
If you’re planning to take a loan through digital apps which have become quite prominent these days, then beware of the following illegal apps available in India:
KOKO Loan
JOJO Loan
Golden Lightening Loan
Silver Kredit Loan
Gold Cash loan
Little Borrow Loan
Tap Credit Loan
Kredit bear Loan
Speedy rupee Loan
Xpress credit Loan
Kredit Plan loan
Rupee Day Loan
Why Beware?
The police in India’s Odisha state have issued a lookout circular against Liu Yi, a Chinese national, who is believed to have floated these illegal digital loan apps in India.
Liu Yi is accused of cheating and extorting money from a large number of middle-class and lower-class people who took loans through these apps during the COVID19 pandemic.
“On the request of Economic Offences Wing, Bhubaneswar, Bureau of Immigration (BOI) has issued Look out Circular against Liu Yi, a Chinese national,” the EOW of Odisha Police said.
The police had lodged an FIR against the Chinese national on 21 April 2022 and booked him for cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, as well as under the Information Technology Act, among other charges.
READ MORE ABOUT THE SCAM: Rs 3,000 Crore Part Time Job Scam Busted: UP Cyber Police Unearth Network Of Crypto Wallets & Shell Companies, Know The Chinese Connection
Working And Impact Of These Illegal Apps:
It is worth mentioning that just one such app alone has more than 1.5 lakh downloads.
It is suspected that they have cheated/ extorted lakhs of people across the country particularly targeting lower and middle-class people in the need of a small loan,s especially during the difficult time of COVID19.
These fake loan apps once downloaded in one’s mobile play store, small amounts ranging from Rs.3,000/- to Rs.10,000/- is credited in the customer’s bank account.
Once the amount is credited to the customer’s bank account, within a week the customer/borrower is asked to repay the amount with an excessive rate of interest.
ALSO READ: Fraudulent Quick Loan Apps & Chinese Directors Behind RBI’s Crackdown Against 5 NBFCs
On denial to pay the high rate of interest, the concerned customer is humiliated/ bullied in many ways.
Obscene messages and indecent pictures along with abusive texts in filthy languages are sent to his/her WhatsApp number and as well as to his/her contact list as a coercive measure to recover the loan amount with interest.
This process of recovery is so overbearing and humiliating that there are some instances of the customers committing suicide.
Who Is Liu Yi?
Liu Yi started his illegal business in India in 2019 from Bangalore. His parent company was Jianbing Technology in Hangzhou China.
He is the director of Omlette technology private limited but indirectly controls/ owns the following other companies:
Yellow Tune Technologies
Mudmate Technologies
Pinkleaf Aryan Communications
Techlite Development
URELA Technologies
Latterfun Technologies
IWT India
Ocean trading
Liu Yi’s Associates:
There are at least two more Chinese who used to assist him in his scam, according to the investigators. His associates used to make their employees or any vulnerable/ needy people directors of the shell companies but actually used to control/ operate the companies and bank accounts.
They also used many call centres to make abusive or threatening calls to loanees.
It is suspected that they are running such illegal Loan Apps in other countries too, especially in Thailand.
Case History:
In this case, the Economic Offences Wing has already arrested five accused accomplices of the Chinese mastermind.
The EOW is in touch of various state police and has conducted raids in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.
More than Rs 6.57 Crore has been frozen.
The EOW has received more than 100 complaints from Odisha related to illegal/ abusive activities of illegal loan apps.
What Is Look Out Circular:
A Look Out Circular is generally issued to alert immigration check posts at airports/seaports etc. to alert law enforcement agencies if the wanted person tries to leave the country or arrive inside the country from abroad.
ALSO READ: Over 2 lakh Cheated Through Fake Loan Apps, Mumbai Police Arrests 4
Suggestion To Prevent Such Crimes:
In order to contain these types of crimes and to create general awareness among the public, the authorities have urged the public not to take any loans from unregistered or illegal loan apps available on the Internet and Playstore.
This is because these loan apps on pretext of advancing loan, access or hack all information from the customers phone, which may later be used by the company to perpetrate some other financial crime.
Such loan apps also harass the customer by charging not only a high rate of interest, but of failure to repay the same, harass them by sending obscene and indecent representations of the customers photos to their contact list.
Hence, on the failure of repayment of the loan, the consequences has to be borne not only by the customer but also by their family members and friends/contacts.
Many times money is also credited just after downloading the app without actually asking or requesting money.
In some states, many people have committed suicide by being blackmailed or continuously humiliated by the recovery agents of these illegal loan apps.
ALSO READ: Chinese Nationals Fuelling Fake Investment, Loan and Work From Home Apps In India?
Not only the borrowers but their family members are also harassed. All are advised that one should avoid downloading/ using these illegal loan apps.
Even if someone has already downloaded/ taken the loan, they should not surrender/ tolerate the abusive/ harassing behaviour/ torture but instead, report the matter to the police. And in no case, they should take extreme steps like committing suicide.
ALSO READ: KYC Details Of Indian Users Misused By Chinese Loan Apps To Create Fake Bank Accounts
Advisory
1. Please do not give your documents for opening of bank accounts to be operated by someone else and also don’t allow anybody to use your SIM to be used by someone else. These things can be used for illegal purposes.
2. Please don’t surrender to the abusive or torturous method of recovery agents of these Loan App companies. Report the matter to the local police.
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