A Singapore-based Chinese national is a mastermind behind the instant loan application fraud that lured several people in Telangana and elsewhere.

The app firms are charging high-interest rates (up to 35 per cent) as they disbursed short-tenure loans. If a customer fails in repayment on time, they would harass them by sending messages to all.

The Cyberabad police have so far registered eight cases in connection with the fraud.

The Cyberabad police, who have deputed teams to different cities to investigate the fraud, have raided a call centre Cubevo Technology Private Limited in Hyderabad. The call centre is headed by a Chinese national, Zixia Zhang, who is currently absconding, Cyberabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar has said.

The call centre is promoted by Skyline Innovations Technologies India Private Limited, which is registered at Gurgaon near New Delhi.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, he said that Zixia Zhang, along with Umapati and Ajay, had developed 11 instant loan apps and lured the innocent people into taking loans from their apps.

The police have arrested four persons, including Yi Bai, who is also a Chinese national and Chief Operating Officer of the company.

The police released a list of instant loan applications with dubious credentials, including Loan Gram, Cash Train, Cash Bus, AAA Cash, Super Cash, Mint Cash, Happy Cash, Loan Card, Repay One and Money Box.

The clique set up Top Fun Technologies, Fasmate Technology Services (both located at Gurgaon), Cubevo Technology Best Shine Technology (Hyderabad) to keep in touch with the customers.

Asking the people to be careful about the instant loan apps, Sajjanar said the police had identified 116 such apps and written to Google to delete them from their app platform Google Play.

The list seems to be still bigger. It is estimated that there are about 700 to 800 instant loan apps.

Asking the people not to get panicky, he advised the public to approach the police if they were subjected to harassment by app companies.

He also advised the public not to share personal and bank credentials to strangers. “You must go through the terms and conditions carefully, especially those in smaller print. Do verify their licenses, company background and credentials of the people behind such businesses,” he said.

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