Mumbai: Kurar police file third loan app blackmail FIR in a week

MUMBAI: In just seven days, Kurar police have registered the third loan app harassment and blackmail case.
The common factor among all three is that the victims were Malad residents who had installed loan apps to check their loan eligibility, allegedly got paltry sums credited into their accounts without consent, and then were harassed by “recovery agents” over phone and their morphed nude photos forwarded to their contacts to blackmail them into repaying the “disbursed” amount with “interest” within a few days.
In the first such case from Malad, on May 4, victim Sandeep Koregaonkar had died by suicide over the humiliation, his family said.
In the latest case, on Tuesday, May 10, Rajeshkumar Ramani (32), employed with an imitation jewellery shop, filed a complaint saying he had downloaded an app, Janecoin Loan, on April 27 and sought an unspecified loan which was rejected. He immediately uninstalled the app and yet overnight Rs 6,362 was deposited into his account, which he had not applied for. Ramani said as demanded, he repaid Rs 11,004 with “interest” within five days of the credit and yet his morphed photos were circulated among his phone contact list. In his complaint, Ramani said, “I uninstalled the app. But on April 28, I noticed Rs 1,204, another Rs 1,204 and then Rs 3,954 was credited into my account which I had never applied for.”
Ramani transferred Rs 11,004 as per instructions in batches of Rs 2,002, Rs 2,001, Rs 2,001 and Rs 5,000. “The problem did not end for him. On May 7, he received threat calls and demands for another Rs 5,000. When he refused, his morphed photos were forwarded to his contact list,” said a police officer.
Additional commissioner of police (north region) Virendra Mishra is supervising zonal DCP Somnath Gharge who has been leading a 10-member team formed after Koregaonkar’s death to crack the cases. Explaining the modus operandi, the officer said, “In all the cases, the victims had granted permission to the apps to access their phone contact list, gallery and other important information which was misused.” Such apps get access to sensitive information such as stored passwords.
A total of seven cases, including three from Kurar, have been registered across the city between March and May.
In the second Kurar case, on May 8, Malad resident Anurag Singh (24) filed a complaint after an app circulated his morphed photos over a “loan” of Rs 3,805.
Police and experts advise loan seekers against blindly downloading apps without research. One must check for the phone number, email and physical address of a lender, even if it is an online-only lender, and browse online reviews, say cops.