BENGALURU: Think twice before availing loans through clandestine apps. Desperate for quick loans, a person could blindly click on links to such apps, and open their electronic gadgets to hackers, who clone the victim’s mobile phones and computers and misuse data and personal details.
A private firm employee, who availed loans through multiple such apps, is now being mentally harassed by some unknown suspects, who have made him pay more than what he reportedly owes them. The accused are also sending obscene pictures to the victim and his family, while lewd messages are being shared with the contacts on the victim’s phone. The victim has approached the CEN police on the matter.
The complainant has been identified as M Chandan Kumar, a resident of Beerayanapalya near Kodihalli.
He is said to have taken loans to the tune of Rs 3.57 lakh through almost 10 apps, starting March 10 up to August 22. “He claims to have cleared the entire loan amount and even paid up an excess of Rs 4.36 lakh. In total, he claims to have paid Rs 7.93 lakh. Yet, the suspects are allegedly blackmailing the complainant, his wife and relatives, asking for more money. The accused are even sending obscene pictures and texts to the friends and relatives of the victims, whose contacts are on their devices,” said an officer.
The police are now checking if the harassment is only from a few apps or all of them. The victim has also shared his bank details with the police to prove his claims. Explaining how a hacker can access an individual’s personal details, a CEN officer said, “After gaining access into a device, the accused scans the social media profiles of their victims. Most social media users use password managers to store their passwords, which can be accessed by the accused to enter social media accounts,” he added.
CCB NABS BOOKIE, SEIZES Rs 1.5L CASH
The Central Crime Branch (CCB) on Monday arrested a bookie for cricket betting and seized Rs 1.5 lakh in cash. The accused had collected money over the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup match that was played on Sunday. Following a tipoff, a team raided a house and detained the accused. He revealed that he had collected money from punters and contacted them over phone to run the cricket betting ring.