In further revelation in the probe into app-based microfinancing companies fraud, the Hyderabad Cyber Crime police have frozen four bank accounts out of 75 identified and blocked ₹ 50 lakh that stood in the credit of those four accounts.
The investigators found that all these accounts (both saving and current) in various private sector banks in National Capital Region and Delhi belong to Liofang Technologies Private Limited, Hotful Technologies Private Limited, PinPrint Technologies Private Limited and Nabloom Technologies.
“Through these accounts, loan amounts were being credited to the borrowers and were also receiving repayments. They are linked to at least 30 mobile applications,” a senior officer told The Hindu on condition of anonymity.
He said that teams were also sent to Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool and Bengaluru in connection with the case.
The investigators also served notices to 610 employees working in three call centres at Punjagutta and Begumpet putting them on notice to appear when called for questioning. This has sent shockwaves among the telecallers.
“During the course of investigation, if their role is established, definitely they will be called for questioning. We know no telecaller is taken into custody,” the officer said. Police also found that call centres in the city do not have any data or personal information about the customers or the loan amount he defaulted. That was managed at Gurugram.
“Here they just provide the phone numbers of defaulters in a specially designed software and ask them to send gentle reminders. Teams in Gurugram have a complete profile of their customers breaching the privacy of the individuals,” the officer said.
In Gurugram, the specially trained abusive telecallers would analyse the profile of their customers/defaulters after accessing his photos and contacts, and even on social media to understand the ‘weak point’ before making the threatening or intimidating calls. “They will hand-pick the ‘weak’ customers and threaten to make his private life public in case he does not return the money with a high rate of interest,” police said. And if the telecallers find some private photos or videos in the defaulters account, there is no limit for their blackmailing and even ask the customers to pay double or triple to the loan amount they availed, the investigators said.
Police have also written to the Registrar of Companies for business details about the accused firms and their nature of work. “We are still waiting for their response,” the officer added.
