New Delhi, Aug 30 : Congress on Tuesday asked the Centre to speak out about the Chinese fraud loan apps that have claimed the lives of 52 young people and swindled off more than Rs 500 crore through Hawala.At a press conference, spokesperson for the party Gaurav Vallabh said it has been two years since the story of Chinese loans apps swindling thousands of Indians through a scheme of the debt trap first surfaced.
He declared: “An investigation between January and February 2021 discovered more than 1,100 loan apps digitally that are available on play stores.RBI has admitted that at most 600 such apps operated illegally.
According to RBI it was found that there was an increase of 12 times in loans made through platforms that were digital between the year 2017 to 2020.So far, 52 people in the country have committed suicide due to the blackmailing of these loans apps.”
Vallabh also claimed that the Modi government of lying to the people and lagging in the courage to speak about the Chinese aggression and not doing enough in diplomatic relations internationally.
He claimed that these apps have grown exponentially after Covid was struck in 2020.
The Modi government has hurt the Indian economy, putting millions of people in the slums, he said.
“This is just one of the main reasons the middle and lower-income classes are forced to take on these debt-based options.
Another reason is the utter mistake of the central agencies’ focus”.
He explained that the method of operation of the loan apps is to that the user must install the app through the store on apps or via by direct message.
At the moment of installation the app will ask for access to the phone book, photos gallery messages and so on.Without these, the app cannot be installed.The user will be asked to show an AADHAAR or PAN card to enable KYC to be able to use the app.
After granting an loan, the borrower is given seven days to make the repayment of twice the amount principally owed.However, the borrower begins receiving calls following five days.Even if the person has paid the whole amount but not his request, more money is deposited into his account, or his repayment is not updated, requiring the customer to make a late payments.
“If the user is unable to pay, the altered photo is then shared with his family and friends.If this does not work by calling call centres to abuse users, they will issue them with the warning to share their naked images.”
The Congress spokesperson said that the incompetence of the central government and its agencies has led to numerous instances of suicides as a result of these debt traps.Chinese loan apps have sucked the sum of Rs 500 crore from India via the hawala route.
“There is no plan, no direction on the part of the Modi government in reviewing priorities.Certain Chinese apps were banned in 2020, but the response on these apps has been sporadic.”
miz/shb/
