The country of 1.4 billion people ‘wobbled’ because of the online loan app from China: Hundreds of people committed suicide because of terrible traps

Tram Ho

Hundreds of suicides rocked India

One morning in March 2021, just as the sun was just rising, the harassing calls began. Kiran Kumar lay flat on his bed, spending hours thinking about how to end his life as a hostage.

The 28-year-old man, a cement salesman, borrowed about 40 USD from an online loan application (app). However, the fees and interest increased day by day making it impossible for Kumar to pay, he started borrowing more money from friends and relatives. As of that morning, Kumar’s debt amounted to $4,000, 100 times the original amount.

What’s even scarier is that the creditors got the phone numbers of the people closest to him, they threatened to call and expose all of Kumar’s secrets.

If I’m seen as a fraud, my self-esteem is gone, my honor is gone. Then what’s left?”

Đất nước 1,4 tỷ dân 'chao đảo' vì app vay tiền online từ Trung Quốc: Hàng trăm người tự sát vì những chiếc bẫy kinh hoàng - Ảnh 1.

Indian authorities fear that victims like Kumar will increase. A new form of lending – with a methodical process from China – is targeting the working class and people living in rural areas, who are the hardest hit after the pandemic. COVID-19 has had a negative impact on the Indian economy.

In traditional communities like India, “loss of honor” is seen as a very serious and terrible thing.

According to a police investigation in the city of Hyderabad (India) in 2021, in just 6 months, up to 14 million transactions were made through online loan apps across India, with a total price worth up to 3 billion USD. The central bank of India, as well as the national authorities must immediately open an investigation.

In an article published on August 26, 2022, India’s DNA India newspaper said that there have been hundreds of cases of suicide after falling into the trap of online loan applications.

Meanwhile, in Newslaundry, Indian cybersecurity expert Pravin Kalaiselvan said that in 2021 alone, there have been at least 64 cases of suicide in India after being threatened and harassed by creditors. behind the online loan application.

Horrible traps

With just a few simple steps and a new selfie, borrowers can instantly receive the money they need to buy a new kitchen for their home or pay for their children’s school fees.

The lenders behind these online loan apps do not require borrowers to provide a credit score or verify from a bank.

However, they charge high fees for a short period of time, and also require the borrower to grant access to the phone book, photos, text messages, etc. This way, the creditors even know the whole story. … battery percentage on the borrower’s phone.

Nandkishore Harikumar, a cybersecurity analyst, said his team surveyed 60 to 70 loan apps, all of which required “maximum access” during installation.

“App installers often don’t think much about why a loan app needs access to their microphone or photo gallery. Because of demand, they allow it all,” Harikumar said.

Đất nước 1,4 tỷ dân 'chao đảo' vì app vay tiền online từ Trung Quốc: Hàng trăm người tự sát vì những chiếc bẫy kinh hoàng - Ảnh 2.

The return period can be very short, as little as 1 week. Creditors often charge extra interest and fees (up to a third of the loan) before they transfer the money, so borrowers owe more money than they received in the first place.

When due and still not collected, creditors will attack borrowers and their relatives/friends with urgings, threats, sometimes even using fake legal documents to warn serious consequences if the borrower does not pay the debt.

Police in Hyderabad have seen an increase in suicides after people filed complaints about harassment from creditors online.

Police forces have conducted raids on a series of “customer care centers” (where debt collectors make calls to urge and threaten borrowers to pay) in at least four cities. of India, each center has between 100-600 employees.

In an interview with the New York Times, a 24-year-old former debt collector said he earns about $130 a month from this job. Every day, he will receive information files of about 50 borrowers, including their personal information, copies of IDs and contact lists.

Debt collectors can earn a weekly $7 bonus if they pressure three-quarters of debtors to pay back their loans. The bonus will be doubled if the success rate is 4/5 or higher.

According to this person, debtors often ask for an extension, begging that this constant harassment will lead to their death. However, debt collectors for the bonus will continue.

Relations with China

When examining and analyzing online loan applications, Indian authorities found that a large amount of data is stored on Chinese cloud services, which also use development tools. Chinese software and facial recognition.

According to NDTV, as of January 2023, India has blocked up to 600 applications to borrow money from China. The New Delhi government has asked the law enforcement agencies to take strict action against these loan applications.

According to Print, New Delhi is trying to find a solution to the problem of loan sharking caused by some Chinese nationals operating from locations in mainland China, Hong Kong (China) or Southeast Asia. start-up online.

In March 2021, at least four Chinese nationals were arrested by Indian police in connection with an online loan application.

Đất nước 1,4 tỷ dân 'chao đảo' vì app vay tiền online từ Trung Quốc: Hàng trăm người tự sát vì những chiếc bẫy kinh hoàng - Ảnh 3.

In August 2022, DNA India reported that India’s cybersecurity force discovered another scam through a Chinese money lending application, arresting 22 related subjects. According to the same newspaper, many loan applications are developed in mainland China and Hong Kong (China) and put on the Google store.

In January 2023, according to NDTV, a scam worth more than $36 million through 15 fake Chinese apps came to light after police in the state of Uttarakhand (India) busted a group of criminals. Cybercriminals specialize in providing low-interest loans, then hack into victims’ phones remotely, looking for secret messages or sensitive images to blackmail them.

A senior official at the head of the cybersecurity unit in Delhi said that Chinese loan application companies often use illegal and predatory behavior to recover loans from victims.

However, thoroughly stopping illegal loan applications like this faces many difficulties, because they “re-export” very quickly with a new name and some new features after being removed from the store. Google.

Srikanth Lakshmanan, a coordinator for Cashless Consumers – a group of volunteers working on loan applications – said that most of these apps are built on existing software, so creating them is very simple. It’s as simple as blogging.

In addition, traces obtained by the police often lead to shell companies, networks used to launder cash or cryptocurrencies, which are difficult for the government to track.

According to Print, as long as Indian authorities have not been able to map the network of loan applications from China and track their locations abroad, new loan applications will continue. continues to attract millions of Indians.

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Source : Genk