Hyderabad man loses ₹36.16 lakh to illegal loan apps

A 46-year-old resident of Sanathnagar, Hyderabad, lost about ₹36.16 lakh after being harassed and defrauded by illegal loan applications operator that allegedly used threats and morphed images to extort money. The Hyderabad cyber crimes police booked a case.

The incidents occurred between August 2025 and February 2026, an officer from the cyber crimes wing said.

“The victim had downloaded two loan applications, Loan Radar and Quick Funds, from the Google Play Store in August 2025 and initially borrowed small amounts. Despite making timely repayments, the applications allegedly credited higher loan amounts into the victim’s bank account without consent,” said the officer.

Though the loan tenure was shown as seven days, the victim began receiving threatening calls and messages from the sixth day.

Police said the applications gained access to the victim’s mobile phone gallery and contact list during installation. The offenders allegedly morphed the victim’s photographs with obscene images and threatened to circulate them among contacts.

Due to continuous harassment and mental distress, the victim made repeated payments under pressure.

“Between September 2025 and February 2026, around ₹29 lakh was credited to the victim’s SBI account, while a total of ₹64,16,242.64 was repaid to the offenders. This resulted in a net financial loss of approximately ₹36.16 lakh,” he explained.

The cyber crimes police issued a public advisory warning citizens against illegal loan applications. They advised people to download loan apps only from trusted and RBI-registered financial institutions, avoid granting unnecessary permissions such as access to contacts or gallery, and stay away from apps offering instant loans with minimal documentation. Citizens were also advised not to respond to threats or share personal details, photographs, OTPs or bank information.

Victims of cyber fraud or harassment have been advised to immediately call the national cyber crime helpline at 1930 or lodge a complaint at the official cyber crime reporting portal.