Loan App Harassment: What to Do When the Threats Start

Your phone keeps ringing, strangers are messaging your friends, and a loan app is threatening to “expose” you. Take a breath. You have more protection than the callers want you to believe.

Signs it is harassment, not normal recovery

A real lender can remind you about a loan you owe. Harassment looks different. Watch for these:

• Calls or messages to your family, friends or office about your loan.
• Edited (morphed) photos of you, or threats to share them.
• Abuse, threats of police or jail, or messages every few minutes.
• Demands to pay to a personal UPI ID or a new number each time.
• The amount keeps growing with “fees” you never agreed to.

What RBI rules say

The Reserve Bank of India (Digital Lending) Directions, 2025 (issued 8 May 2025) set rules for lending done through apps by banks and NBFCs. In simple words:

• Apps must not access phone resources like files and media, contact list or call logs. One-time access to camera, microphone or location is allowed only for KYC, with your clear consent.
• Before a recovery agent contacts you, the lender must tell you the agent’s details by email or SMS.
• The lender must have a grievance officer. If you get no reply within 30 days, you can complain on RBI’s Complaint Management System under the RBI Ombudsman scheme.

If an app grabbed your contact list, that alone tells you something is wrong.

Check if the app is linked to a real lender

Since 1 July 2025, RBI has a directory of Digital Lending Apps (DLAs) on its website. It helps you check whether an app’s claim to work with a regulated lender is true. Look for the link “DLA’s deployed by Regulated Entities” on rbi.org.in.

If the app is not on the list, treat it as unregulated and possibly illegal. If it is on the list, you can also use the lender complaint route above. Being listed is not an RBI guarantee that the app behaves well.

What to do today

1. Stop and save proof. Take screenshots of messages, call logs, UPI IDs, the app name and any photos they send. Note dates and times.
2. Do not pay under threat. Paying a new number or link rarely ends it. It often brings more demands.
3. Tell the people they contact. A short message to family or your office works: “A fake loan app is sending false messages about me. Please ignore and don’t pay anyone.”
4. Remove the app’s access. In your phone settings, take away its permissions, then uninstall it after you have saved your proof.
5. Report it on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in (details below).
6. If it is a listed lender, complain to its grievance officer in writing and keep the reply. No answer in 30 days? Go to RBI’s complaint portal.

Where to report

• 1930 – national cyber crime helpline, especially if you lost money.
• cybercrime.gov.in – file a complaint online with your screenshots.
• Sachet (sachet.rbi.org.in) – RBI’s portal where you can report unauthorised lending apps and companies.

If it feels too much

These threats are designed to make you feel ashamed and alone. You are not the one who did wrong. Talk to someone you trust today. If you feel overwhelmed, call Tele-MANAS on 14416, the government’s toll-free mental health helpline.

Related reads: Job offer texts from strangers · How to check if a website is a scam · Recovery scams that promise your money back