GURUGRAM: Rahul (name changed), a New Colony resident, became a victim of a Chinese loan app last year, and for a Rs 40,000 loan, he ended up paying nearly Rs 5 lakh.
But the harassment did not stop even after he had sold his wife’s jewellery, with Rahul reaching a point where he started thinking of ending his life. “Then I approached the police, who helped me get over such thoughts and started chasing the harassers,” said Rahul.
Recently, many people have fallen victim to Chinese loan apps that extend easy microloans at stiff interest rates. When Rahul shared his story on social media, he drew the attention of many other victims. Soon, the idea of forming a WhatsApp group had taken root. And at the beginning of this year, the Save Us Please group kicked off, which became a forum for victims of loan apps to give each other emotional support, legal and procedural advice on dealing with blackmailing and cyberbullying, or simply to vent.
“On the group, we share the contact numbers of loan app representatives and ask everyone to block those numbers,” said Rahul.
The group has connected nearly 400 people across India, including residents of Delhi and Gurugram , since January.
Nitin (name changed) from Nashik said the support group helped him after he fell victim to a loan app. “The continuous harassment pushed me to the lowest point in my life. I had no idea how to deal with it. The group provided me with emotional support when I needed it the most,” he said.
There are updates…
But the harassment did not stop even after he had sold his wife’s jewellery, with Rahul reaching a point where he started thinking of ending his life. “Then I approached the police, who helped me get over such thoughts and started chasing the harassers,” said Rahul.
Recently, many people have fallen victim to Chinese loan apps that extend easy microloans at stiff interest rates. When Rahul shared his story on social media, he drew the attention of many other victims. Soon, the idea of forming a WhatsApp group had taken root. And at the beginning of this year, the Save Us Please group kicked off, which became a forum for victims of loan apps to give each other emotional support, legal and procedural advice on dealing with blackmailing and cyberbullying, or simply to vent.
“On the group, we share the contact numbers of loan app representatives and ask everyone to block those numbers,” said Rahul.
The group has connected nearly 400 people across India, including residents of Delhi and Gurugram , since January.
Nitin (name changed) from Nashik said the support group helped him after he fell victim to a loan app. “The continuous harassment pushed me to the lowest point in my life. I had no idea how to deal with it. The group provided me with emotional support when I needed it the most,” he said.
There are updates…
