By Five Chinese nationals and a Sri Lankan were arrested for running a loan scam. Victims were lured by promises of fast cash but charged 30% daily interest and threatened with personal data leaks and public shaming. The scam has exposed a legal loophole – the Central Bank doesn’t regulate online loan companies.
Modus Operandi:
The scam has been operating since 2021 and registered under the guise of a firm with an office in Dehiwala. Attractive social media posts lured those who fell victim to the scam with promises of loans from Rs. 5,000 upwards within hours on straightforward terms. All they had to do was apply for an online loan. After the application, the scammers would gain access to the clients’ phones and steal personal data, such as contact lists and photographs. Victims had to repay the loan at a 30% per day interest rate within ten days.
Failure or delay to pay back the loans would result in a mass share of defamatory social media posts, claiming that the borrower has not repaid. A woman who obtained a loan from these online sharks acted unexpectedly and complained to the Police. The Computer Crimes Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) picked up the case.
Abusive Calls:
In a raid, the Police found eight desktop computers, 13 laptops, and 49 mobile phones.
Police Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said that the Police are investigating some female employees who have also been involved in carrying out the scam. It is suspected that several other groups are carrying out online scams, and the arrested Dehiwala scammers are just one among many.
Indika Amaraweera, speaking to Lanka News Line, said that he received many abusive phone calls and was threatened by some who identified him as a lawyer who threatened legal action. An hour later, a woman called him and said that his failure to pay interest would be shared with all his contacts. “I had no alternative, and I took another loan and settled this loan with delay charges,” said Indika Amaraweera. “Loan sharks” were exploiting a legal loophole to operate. “They obtain photos of the person obtaining the loan. They obtain photos of their families, and if the person who obtained the loan is late on his payments, even for a day or two, they threaten the person and insult them. They try to break up families by alleging illicit affairs using doctored photos of those who fail to meet payments,” said Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa in Parliament. The Leader of the Opposition said that such scammers are operating from a building close to the parliament.
