Loan Application Trap Humiliations

There was a time when morons reached the doors of a defaulting loan or seized their vehicles in the middle of the road. However, with the changing times, loan collectors modus operandi also transformed. The people who took application loans face different types of harassment. Some apps hire teams to call all the contacts of the person who took advantage of the loan, to insult the person and make allegations of cheating or offer rewards to those who catch the person.

Recently, a 32-year-old businessman showed up at a police station to complain about being harassed by an “app” team. He told Bangalore Mirror that he took a Rs 10,000 loan from an app. “Although I quickly repaid the loan, I started getting messages that they hadn’t received my money and wanted me to repay it again. When I refused to pay, I received threatening messages. So I blocked the number but started getting the message from different numbers. As if that wasn’t enough, my sister, my brother, my friends and even my boss got a message saying I was an impostor,” he said. One of the audio messages seen by the BM team reads: “This man took money from us and disappeared. He’s an impostor. Now he is not taking any of our calls as we are desperately trying to reach him. If you know it, let us know and we will also reward you for the information.

How do these companies access people’s contacts? A police officer explained that to take out a loan, a customer needs to download the app. “While downloading the app, it asks for permission to search for contacts. Later, company executives use those contacts to send threatening messages to insult the loan taker. Many applications do not process the loan if access is not granted to the contacts. »

Suresh Kumar, whose brother was a victim, said recently that he received a message from a number saying bad things about his brother. “I called the number but there was no answer. When I messaged I was told this was the right way to teach a lesson. Sources said this online harassment had reached such a level that many victims fell into depression. “I gave all my contact details, including my PAN and Adhar cards. I’m afraid to go out. Many of my friends and relatives also received messages. It’s embarassing. I regret my mistake,” one victim said.