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Scam explainer

Illegal loan app harassment also called Instant loan app scam, Loan app blackmail, Fake loan app

Unregistered instant-loan apps harvest your contacts and photos, charge hidden fees and then harass or blackmail you and your contacts over repayments.

How it works

  1. An app or ad offers an instant small loan with no paperwork.
  2. Installing it grants access to your contacts, photos and messages.
  3. Less money than promised arrives after large 'processing' fees, and repayment is due within days at a very high effective cost.
  4. Recovery agents call and message you and your contacts, sometimes sending morphed obscene images, to force payment, often more than you owe.

Red flags

  • No named RBI-regulated bank or NBFC behind the loan.
  • The app asks for access to contacts, gallery or SMS.
  • Deductions from the loan amount or repayment periods of a few days.
  • Threats, abuse or messages to people in your contact list.

What to do

  • Check whether the app appears in RBI's Digital Lending Apps directory before borrowing.
  • Do not pay extra amounts under threat; keep screenshots of every threat and message.
  • Report harassment and morphed images on cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930, and approach your local police.
  • Revoke the app's permissions, uninstall it, and warn close contacts not to respond.
  • Complain about unauthorised lenders on RBI's Sachet portal.

Step-by-step guideHarassed by a loan app? How to check a lender first, and where to complain in India

The numbers

RBI launched a public directory of Digital Lending Apps from 1 July 2025 so borrowers can check whether an app is linked to a regulated lender, alongside its Digital Lending Directions of May 2025 (PIB).

Desk coverage

Sources

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