After lists of over 100 loan apps sent to Google by the Maharashtra Cyber ​​department received no response, the department has issued a new notice to the tech giant asking for details of all available loan apps. on Google Playstore.

Over the past few years, especially during the COVID 19 pandemic, when millions of people found themselves in financial crisis for various reasons, hundreds of such apps have sprung up on the internet. These apps offer quick loans without any verification or collateral at attractive interest rates.

However, cases have now started piling up of app recovery agents harassing their customers and charging them far more than they were supposed to. Various bullying tactics are used to extract this money and in most cases a person who has borrowed a few thousand rupees ends up paying several lakhs.

Cyberpolice officials said a total of 113 lending apps were recommended for removal from Playstore in the last month after undue harassment complaints were filed against these apps.

“Since 2019, we have received 1,952 complaints against loan applications. First we sent a list of 13 apps, followed by another 31 apps and the last of 69 apps. All of these names have been sent to Google within the last month,” said Superintendent of Police Sanjay Shintre, Maharashtra Cyber.

The Free Press Journal contacted Google for comment but did not receive a response until Tuesday evening.

A cyber police official said that so far, “complaints against loan applications have been received in 48 cyber police stations in Maharashtra including the four cyber police stations in Mumbai. of 69 applications to Google on May 30, the Cyber ​​Department also sent a new notice on June 2 requesting information on loan applications.”

The notice asks Google to provide the creation details of all lending apps as well as basic subscriber information, such as the names and contact details of the creators of those apps.

Further, the notice also asked how many loan applications have yet to submit a copy of their registration certificate to the Reserve Bank of India and how many have yet to provide proof of their registration under of Maharashtra Money Lending Act (Regulation).

Officials said investigating cases against loan applications is a challenge in itself. With the Internet, there is no longer a need for recovery agents to physically harass victims. In several cases, agents threaten to publish obscene and altered photos of clients on the Internet if they do not pay. It can be done from any corner of the country and even abroad.

One of the first things a cybercrime investigator does in such an investigation is to obtain the Internet Protocol (IP) address, a unique code assigned to every electronic device that uses the Internet. Obtaining an IP address also gives police an idea of ​​the whereabouts of the suspect, greatly narrowing the scope of investigation and also providing concrete documentary evidence at the trial stage. However, this in itself is the first challenge.

“Obtaining IP addresses involves seeking this information from the service providers concerned and these do not always comply with our requests. Without something as basic as an IP address, investigation becomes a challenge,” Shintre said.

The provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act also add to the challenges for the police. On Monday, Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey said the law requires an officer of the rank of police inspector to investigate cases and that there are only a limited number of IPs in strength.

Maharashtra Cyber ​​officials also concurred with this statement.

“It is a fact that PI rank officers are overworked, as all computer law cases must necessarily have them as investigators. The e-department only investigates computer law cases, but in police stations, PIs are also tasked with countless other tasks. In the end, it’s the case that suffers,” said a PI-ranking officer.