Loan App Harassing You or Your Contacts? What to Do (2026)

It often starts with a small, quick loan taken through a mobile app. Within days, the repayment demanded is far higher than what was borrowed, and then the calls begin: abusive messages, threats, and messages sent to people in your phone's contact list calling you a "fraud" or a "thief". In some cases, recovery agents send edited or morphed photographs to family members and colleagues. Many people in Gurugram and across Haryana have faced this, and many feel too ashamed to tell anyone.

This article explains, in plain language, what the law says about loan app harassment, which acts can amount to offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) and the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the practical steps you can take to protect yourself.

First, an important distinction: owing money is not a crime

If you genuinely borrowed money, the lender has a right to recover what is lawfully due through lawful means, such as reminders, notices or a civil claim. But no lender, whether a bank, an NBFC or an app, has the right to threaten you, abuse you, shame you before your contacts or misuse your photographs. Owing money does not take away your protection under criminal law, and harassment does not become legal just because a loan is unpaid.

It also helps to know whether you are dealing with a regulated lender at all. Many harassing apps are not linked to any bank or NBFC regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). They are illegal lending operations that use a loan as a hook.

Regulated app or illegal app: how to check

• RBI's directory of digital lending apps. The RBI has put on its website a directory of digital lending apps deployed by the banks and NBFCs it regulates. If the app you used is not in that list, treat it with great caution.
• Name of the lender. A regulated app must clearly disclose the bank or NBFC that is actually giving the loan. If the app, the loan agreement or the sanction message does not name any regulated lender, that is a warning sign.
• Access to your phone. RBI rules do not allow lending apps of regulated entities to access your contact list, call logs or files and media. An app that demanded access to your contacts and then messages them is acting against these rules.

Which acts can amount to offences

Depending on the facts, the conduct commonly seen in loan app harassment can fall under several provisions. The police decide which sections to apply after looking at the complaint, but it helps to know the main ones:

• Extortion, Section 308 BNS (formerly Sections 383 and 384 IPC): demanding money by putting a person in fear of injury, including injury to reputation, for example "pay or we will send your photos to everyone".
• Criminal intimidation, Section 351 BNS (formerly Sections 503 and 506 IPC): threatening a person with harm to their body, reputation or property to force them to do something.
• Defamation, Section 356 BNS (formerly Sections 499 and 500 IPC): telling your contacts that you are a "fraud", "thief" or "wanted", or circulating false and insulting messages about you.
• Insulting the modesty of a woman, Section 79 BNS (formerly Section 509 IPC): where abusive words, gestures or content are directed at a woman.
• Cheating, Section 318 BNS (formerly Section 420 IPC): where the app deceived the borrower, for example by hiding huge charges or deducting most of the amount upfront.
• Information Technology Act, 2000: Section 66E (violation of privacy by capturing or publishing private images), Section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material electronically) and Section 67A (sexually explicit material). Morphed photographs sent to contacts can attract these provisions.

What to do, step by step

1. Do not panic and do not keep paying under threat. Many victims pay again and again to illegal apps, only for the demands to grow. Payments made under threat rarely end the harassment.
2. Preserve the evidence. Take screenshots of threatening messages, call logs, numbers used, the app's name and screenshots of its Play Store page, the loan sanction message, UPI or bank transaction records, and any messages your contacts received. Ask friends and relatives who received messages to keep them and send you screenshots. Do not delete chats in anger.
3. Report the cyber crime. Call the national cyber crime helpline 1930 or file a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in. You can also give a written complaint at your local police station or the cyber police station in Gurugram. Attach the evidence and a short, date-wise account of events.
4. Warn your contacts briefly. A short message to family, friends and colleagues saying that a fraudulent app is sending false messages and morphed images, and asking them to ignore and report them, takes away much of the app's power to shame you.
5. Revoke app permissions and uninstall the app. Withdraw permissions for contacts, storage and camera, uninstall the app, and report it on the app store. Change passwords if you shared any login details.
6. Complain to the right financial authority. If the app is linked to a regulated bank or NBFC, first complain to that lender's grievance redressal officer. If the complaint is not resolved within 30 days, or is rejected, you can approach the RBI Integrated Ombudsman through the RBI's complaint management portal. If the app appears to be unauthorised, it can be reported on the RBI's Sachet portal.
7. If the police do not act. If your complaint discloses a cognizable offence but no FIR is registered, the BNSS provides further remedies, explained on our page about what to do when the police do not register an FIR.

What about the money you actually borrowed?

If the loan was from a regulated lender, the principal and charges that were lawfully agreed and properly disclosed remain payable, and it is wise to settle that amount through the lender's official channels and keep proof of payment. Harassment by recovery agents is a separate issue on which you can complain, as explained above.

Where the app is illegal and the "charges" are hidden or wildly beyond what was disclosed, the position depends on the facts. Keep a clear record of every amount you received and every amount you paid. This record is useful both in a police complaint and in any later dispute.

If morphed or intimate images are being circulated

This is the most distressing form of loan app harassment, and it is important to act quickly. Report it on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in, ask the platform where it is posted to take it down, and keep a record of every link and screenshot. Our article on what to do about sextortion explains steps that apply equally when a loan app threatens to publish images. More general information is available on our page about cyber crime matters in Gurugram.

Remember that you are the victim of an offence. Feeling ashamed is natural, but it is the people misusing your photographs who are breaking the law.

Frequently asked questions

Can the loan app have me arrested for not repaying?

Simply being unable to repay a loan is a civil matter, not a crime. Threats such as "a police case has been registered" or "a warrant is coming" are a common pressure tactic used by illegal apps. If you receive any genuine police notice, verify it with the concerned police station.

Can I complain if I live in Gurugram but the callers are elsewhere?

Yes. Cyber complaints can be filed online on the national portal or with the police where you live, even if the callers are in another state or abroad.