State Police (SPC) Chief Anil Kant has issued instructions to maintain high alert against mobile apps used for online loan fraud in light of rising fraud cases targeting young people and students.

Mr. Kant called on district police chiefs to take strong and effective action on complaints related to them.

In a press release issued by the SPC office, he said such apps lure customers by asking customers to provide the simplest of Know Your Customer (KYC) documents. Once the customer has installed the application, he accesses all the information on the phone, including the contact list. People desperate for a loan often accept all requests for access.

Those who avail a loan of ₹3,000 would immediately get between ₹2,200 and ₹2,600 after deductions on various counts. The repayment period is usually around one week. Agents of the company would start contacting the customer, demanding repayment, failing which they would call other numbers on the contact list claiming that they had been appointed as guarantors for the loan and that legal action would be taken if the person did not did not reimburse. Those who don’t repay often rely on other similarly providing loan apps to repay the outstanding amount, leading to more complicated debt traps.

The CPS has sounded the alarm against the claims as it has been found that many victims are reluctant to press charges.