The Cybercrime Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has made arrests in a loan apps scam. The arrested individuals were involved in blackmailing people who had borrowed money from the loan app mafia. As per official statement, the arrested individuals were tasked with making between 100 and 150 calls daily to people who had used the loan apps, along with their friends and relatives.
Loan App Scam: Operations and Investigations Leading to Arrests
The FIA’s Cybercrime Wing conducted a series of operations in the Saidpur Road area, resulting in the arrest of nine suspects. These individuals were responsible for making daily calls to borrowers, as well as their friends and relatives, who had used loan apps. The arrested individuals operated from designated sections in various offices, which were discovered and shut down during the operation. Furthermore, the FIA has launched investigations against 19 other possible culprits, indicating the scale of the scam.
The loan apps involved in the scam were not only used to provide loans but also to gain unauthorized access to users’ private data, such as personal photos and contacts; this sensitive information was then exploited to harass and blackmail the victims. The arrest and shutdown of the offices revealed the organized nature of the scam, with specific sections and designated duties for the blackmailers.
Tragic Consequences and Ongoing Investigations
The crackdown on the loan apps scam comes after a tragic incident involving a borrower named Muhammad Masood. Faced with unmanageable pressure and threats from the loan app mafia, Masood took his own life. Initially borrowing Rs. 13,000, Masood found himself trapped in a cycle of missed repayments and mounting interest, resulting in a debt of over Rs. 700,000. The blackmailers further tormented him by threatening to leak his private data.
Following Masood’s suicide, the FIA’s Cybercrime unit collected his mobile phone for investigation, along with examining his email communications and obtaining statements from his wife and brother. While arrests have been made in this specific case, the FIA continues to conduct investigations, with further raids planned to apprehend additional blackmailers involved in the loan apps scam.
Also read: FIA’s Crackdown Targets Online Loan Apps Following Tragic Incident
