Express News Service
BENGALURU: While cyber crime is on the rise in India, the Karnataka Cyber Crime Branch asks victims to file complaints immediately, but there is little action taken against scammers. One such scam is the Koko Loan App, available on Google Play Store. Though the app has been flooded with positive reviews and sits on a 4.9 rating, there are several complaints that it’s an organised scam.
“I downloaded the app because I needed some money, I had previously used similar loan apps, so I uploaded relevant documents and my bank details. They offered me Rs 7,000, much less than what I wanted,” said Sachin Gowda, a resident of Bengaluru.
Soon after, around Rs 4,000 was credited into Sachin’s bank account. A week later, according to Sachin, he started receiving messages from multiple numbers, posing as representatives of the app, asking him to pay the loan back. “They started sending me links to UPI IDs that did not work and asked me to pay back Rs 7,000 after just six days,” he said. It was almost twice the amount credited.
Following his refusal, the representatives started blackmailing him. “I paid the money immediately since I didn’t want them to harass my women contacts,” he said. However, the representatives immediately demanded that he pay the amount again.
Chandana P, a former Bengaluru resident, faced the same issue. “I downloaded the app to check my loan eligibility, but they credited Rs 4,640 into my…
