A Singapore-based Chinese national is the mastermind behind the instant loan application fraud that drew several people to Telangana and elsewhere.

App companies charge high interest rates (up to 35%) when disbursing short-term loans. If a customer doesn’t pay back on time, they’ll harass them by messaging everyone.

Cyberabad police have so far registered eight fraud-related cases.

Cyberabad police, who sent teams to various cities to investigate the fraud, raided a Cubevo Technology Private Limited call center in Hyderabad. The call center is headed by a Chinese national, Zixia Zhang, who is currently on the run, Cyberabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar said.

The call center is promoted by Skyline Innovations Technologies India Private Limited, which is registered in Gurgaon near New Delhi.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, he said that Zixia Zhang, along with Umapati and Ajay, developed 11 instant loan apps and tricked the innocent into borrowing from their apps.

Police arrested four people, including Yi Bai, who is also a Chinese national and chief operating officer of the company.

Police released a list of instant loan applications with questionable credentials including Loan Gram, Cash Train, Cash Bus, AAA Cash, Super Cash, Mint Cash, Happy Cash, Loan Card, Repay One, and Money Box.

The clique set up Top Fun Technologies, Fasmate Technology Services (both located in Gurgaon), Cubevo Technology Best Shine Technology (Hyderabad) to keep in touch with customers.

Asking people to be careful with instant loan apps, Sajjanar said police identified 116 of those apps and wrote to Google to remove them from their Google Play app platform.

The list seems to be even longer. It is estimated that there are around 700 to 800 instant loan applications.

By asking people not to panic, he advised the public to turn to the police if they faced harassment from app companies.

He also advised the public not to share personal and banking credentials with strangers. “You should read the terms and conditions carefully, especially those in the fine print. Check their licenses, company background and the credentials of the people behind those companies, ”he said.