Woman falls to prey to cyberbullying, sextortion over loan she never availed

Lucknow, Oct 16: A woman who sought an easy loan, ended up being subjected to a vicious campaign of cyberbullying and sextortion.

A resident of Indira Nagar, the woman not only ended up paying double the amount of the loan she never sought, but was also subjected to bullying.

"The Indira Nagar police have registered a case in this connection, and an FIR under IPC sections 384 (extortion) and 420 (cheating) was lodged on October 13," stated SHO Sunil Kumar Tiwari on Monday.

According to the FIR, the incident unfolded in September when the woman received an enticing loan offer on her mobile phone and, initially intrigued, clicked on the provided link to explore the offer further.

However, as she delved deeper, she was startled to discover that, within seven days, she was obligated to repay a staggering Rs 6,041 for a loan amount of Rs 3,300. She declined the offer.

To her surprise, though, her bank account was credited with Rs 3,300, even though she had never provided consent.

The irony was that she had inadvertently disclosed her bank account details while navigating through the loan application process a day earlier.

Over the following six days, she was bombarded with relentless phone calls demanding payment, leaving her bewildered and cornered.

Fearing the consequences, she reluctantly made the payment through a mobile app. However, her shock only deepened when she found Rs 5,400 inexplicably deposited into her bank account the next day, along with a demand for an additional Rs 9,062 to be repaid within a week.

"I never applied for the loan, and yet the money was mysteriously credited to my bank account. I exhausted every possible avenue to reach company officials responsible for this unauthorised deposit, but my efforts were in vain. Two days later, I received a call, and I confronted the caller about unapproved transaction. I demanded explanation and refused to pay extra money for loan," she said.

Her ordeal took a turn for the worse when the accused resorted to bullying tactics. "They infiltrated my mobile phone, gaining access to all my personal data and photos stored in my gallery. They also obtained the mobile numbers of my relatives and began sending them derogatory messages while ridiculing me. They sent me manipulated photo of myself and threatened to release it unless I reimbursed money," she alleged.