Police files case against loan sharks who circulate morphed pictures of women in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Three women have filed police complaints separately after they were harassed and traumatised by loan sharks who morphed their pictures and circulated them to their parents, relatives, friends, and all those in their phone contact list in the last 72 hours. The police said that these women who hail from Andheri, Jogeshwari, and Malad received threatening calls harassed by fraudsters claiming they had taken loan, when they had not, and demanded repayment of a loan failing which their morphed nude pictures were circulated.
PS Kewat (27) is the most harassed victim from Jogeshwari (West). She was traumatised on Apr 8 after the caller abused and threatened her demanding to pay Rs 3,700 loan that she had taken from Candy App and demanding to close it paying Rs 3,747. "I received 24 threatening calls in an hour from different mobile numbers demanding repayment of a loan she never took. When she refused, the fraudster circulated a morphed image of her to her phone contact list," said Kewat in the FIR.
Oshiwara police who registered the case on Wednesday said when Kewat did not respond to the fraudster's repeated harassment calls, they uploaded her morphed photos on social media with a caption (She is a call girl and anyone can contact her on a mobile number mentioned in the morphed photo). "The cyber wing of the Oshiwara police is tracking the numbers that were used in the crime. Despite not taking a loan the victim was harassed," said a police officer.
Oshiwara police said in the second case registered on Apr 9, the victim KS Yadav (26) from Malad (East) was also targeted, receiving abusive calls, and having her pictures morphed and sent to her relatives and friends. When Yadav made her brother talk with the caller (a woman), he too was abused. "The fraudster circulated Yadav's morphed photos to at least four friends," said the police.
The third victim, a 25-year-old from Andheri (East), faced similar harassment and threats. "I clicked on a link (Sweet Money Instant Loan) that I received on my mobile on Apr 6 and Rs1800 got credited to my account without my consent. Later I received at least half a dozen calls to repay the loan," said KB Kshatriya in the FIR registered on Apr 8. Powai police said Kshatriya's morphed pictures were sent to her brother and her uncle when she did not respond to the fraudster's threats.
These cases come amidst a rise in loan fraud in Mumbai, with 223 cases reported between January and February this year. This marks a significant increase compared to the 221 cases reported between 2021 and 2023. Shockingly, the Mumbai police managed to solve just 58 cases out of the total 444 registered in Mumbai between 2021 and 2024 (till Feb). "In all the cases, the numbers that the fraudster uses to make threatening and abusive calls are procured using fake documents. Also, these apps provide fake office addresses," said a senior IPS officer.


2024*----223--------31---------36
2023-----63---------16---------14
2022-----116--------6----------27
2021-----42---------5----------14