The Cyber Crime Wing have warned the public about fake loan apps, such as ‘Prime Lend’ and ‘Candy Cash’ being used for extortion by scammers.

When these apps are installed, they request access to an user’s contacts, gallery, SMS history, and phone data, enabling scammers to access and misuse this information. When people avail themselves of loans from these apps, the scammers demand exorbitant repayments. If the victims refuse to pay, they are subjected to relentless harassment and blackmailed with morphed obscene images and threats of public humiliation, the Cyber Crime Wing said.

In the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, 9,873 complaints related to fraudulent loan applications were registered from Tamil Nadu in 2024. In 2025, 3,834 such complaints have been registered till date.