Beware of Koko Loan App! Scamsters credit cash, demand twice in return
BENGALURU: While cyber crime is on the rise in India, the Karnataka Cyber Crime Branch asks victims to file complaints immediately, but there is little action taken against scammers. One such scam is the Koko Loan App, available on Google Play Store. Though the app has been flooded with positive reviews and sits on a 4.9 rating, there are several complaints that it’s an organised scam.
“I downloaded the app because I needed some money, I had previously used similar loan apps, so I uploaded relevant documents and my bank details. They offered me Rs 7,000, much less than what I wanted,” said Sachin Gowda, a resident of Bengaluru.
Soon after, around Rs 4,000 was credited into Sachin’s bank account. A week later, according to Sachin, he started receiving messages from multiple numbers, posing as representatives of the app, asking him to pay the loan back. “They started sending me links to UPI IDs that did not work and asked me to pay back Rs 7,000 after just six days,” he said. It was almost twice the amount credited.
Following his refusal, the representatives started blackmailing him. “I paid the money immediately since I didn’t want them to harass my women contacts,” he said. However, the representatives immediately demanded that he pay the amount again.
Chandana P, a former Bengaluru resident, faced the same issue. “I downloaded the app to check my loan eligibility, but they credited Rs 4,640 into my account. I visited my bank, but they could not give me any details on who credited the amount, since it was done through netbanking. Four days later, I started getting calls by multiple numbers to pay back Rs 8,000,” said Chandana. She alleged that the scamsters sent her pictures from her gallery and threatened to create a WhatsApp group with her contacts and send them her details.
The app has many negative reviews too, which tell the same story of money being credited without consent, and demands to pay double the amount. However, despite both Chandana and Sachin filing complaints separately, no action has been taken yet. “The Cyber Crime Branch transferred my complaint to the local police station in Bhadravati, but they only told me to ignore the messages,” said Chandana. She had downloaded the app on February 19 and to date, she receives messages from representatives.
With no response from police despite filing a complaint on February 14, Sachin changed his number and is now left alone. Bharath Kumar, sub-inspector at Bhadravati Old Town Station, where Chandana’s complaint was transferred, said it was difficult to track the people behind the case as they were based in New Delhi.