The Kerala government said on Monday that incidents of people being cheated after availing loans through online applications are being reported in the state and the police are taking strict action against entities involved in such activities even if they are operating from other states. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the assembly that according to information received by the police, such entities in other states were operating in violation of the regulations of the Reserve Bank of India and the Money Lenders Act. .

The Chief Minister was responding to a brief by CPI(M)MLA V Joy in the House regarding a rise in cases of online loan fraud in Kerala and the steps the state government plans to take to address the problem. Regarding the measures taken by the state government, Vijayan said that 19 cyber police stations have been set up and a high-tech cell composed of specially trained police officers has also been constituted for effective investigation and action. justice against cybercrimes, especially online loan fraud. case.

In addition, necessary awareness campaigns are carried out through the social media cell and the Janamaithri security program of the state police to prevent people from falling prey to such fraudulent entities, he said. . Giving details on how these entities operate and who may fall victim to such fraud, the Chief Minister said such scams occur due to the heavy use of mobile phones, which are essential for all in today’s society.

Another reason is that there are people who have the mentality of taking advantage of loans wherever they can get them and such people are easily fooled by loan promise, Vijayan said. Joy, in her submission, said it all starts with a text message that claims a certain loan amount has been sanctioned and asks the person receiving the message to click on the accompanying link.

By clicking on it an app is downloaded to the phone and it collects all personal information and photographs of the person and subsequently asks for money for loan processing, Joy said and added that the default payment of loans leads to all sorts of threats and harassment. Giving more details on how these scams work, CM Vijayan said, “After collecting the personal information of the customer who downloads the money lending apps, a processing fee of around 30% is charged and small amounts are loaned for a period of one week. .

“In case of default, loan companies resort to the method of constant threats and sending defamatory messages to put the client under psychological pressure.” This is a very important social issue and indicates the need to raise public awareness against such scams, he added.

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