Rachakonda Cybercrime unit exposes Chinese-operated loan app fraud ring

The police seized three laptops, six mobile phones, 18 SIM cards, a debit card and Rs. 1.50 lakh in cash from them.

Hyderabad: A loan app harassment and fraud racket linked to Chinese operatives was busted by the Rachakonda Cybercrime sleuths on Wednesday. The police seized three laptops, six mobile phones, 18 SIM cards, a debit card and Rs. 1.50 lakh in cash from them.

The arrested five persons Ashuthosah Mishra, Saini, Prashanth Kumar, Prince Pal and Vikas Sharma, all residents of Haryana.

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Rachakonda Police Commissioner, DS Chauhan said a Chinese national ‘Gina’ was operating the loan app racket by employing Indian citizens and collecting huge amount of money from the victims.

The police investigation in the racket began after a man Abdul Bari, who obtained a loan of Rs.10,500 was forced to pay up Rs.2.49 lakh to the fraudsters. “The fraudsters forced the man to pay up the money else threatened to send his morphed photographs to his relatives and other contacts,” said the Commissioner.

The police are verifying the details stored in the seized laptops to identify the persons who were victimized by the gang. “The arrested persons were asked to send messages to unsuspecting people and offer instant loans to them. Later, the gang collected huge money from them and transferred it through different channels to foreign countries,” said Chauhan.

The police are seeking help of central agencies to track the origin and source of the money as it raises national security concerns.