Harassed by a loan app? How to stop it and complain
Reviewed by the VirtualVakil legal team · Last reviewed:
Recovery agents may not threaten, abuse or humiliate you, or call your family and friends to shame you: RBI rules forbid this for regulated lenders, and threats and morphed photos are crimes under the BNS and the IT Act. Keep proof of every call and message, check whether the app is linked to an RBI-regulated lender, and report the harassment on cybercrime.gov.in or 1930. Complaints about a regulated lender go to the lender and then the RBI Ombudsman; illegal lending can be reported on RBI's Sachet portal.
How to deal with loan app harassment, step by step
Do not pay under pressure
Do not pay extra amounts just to stop the calls. Work out what you actually borrowed and repaid, from your bank statement and the app.
Check who the lender is
A lawful digital loan is made by a bank or an RBI-regulated lender, whose name must be disclosed in the app and loan documents. If no regulated lender is named, treat the app as illegal.
Save the evidence, then cut off access
Screenshot the threats, morphed images, call logs and numbers, and export the loan details. Then withdraw the app's permissions to your contacts, photos and files, and uninstall it.
Report the harassment
File on cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930, and approach your local police station for threats. Tell your contacts that any morphed image they receive is fake and is part of a crime.
Complain to the lender and to RBI
For a regulated lender, complain in writing to its grievance redressal officer; if there is no reply within 30 days or you are not satisfied, file on cms.rbi.org.in. Report unregulated lending apps on sachet.rbi.org.in.
What recovery agents are not allowed to do
- Threaten, abuse or intimidate you, verbally or physically.
- Humiliate you publicly or contact your family, friends or colleagues to shame you.
- Send morphed or obscene images, or threaten to.
- Call before 8:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m., make anonymous or threatening calls, or post inappropriate messages about you, including on social media.
Do I still owe the money?
If you borrowed from a regulated lender, the loan remains payable on its lawful terms; harassment does not cancel it, and the debt does not make harassment lawful. If the app is illegal or the charges are not what you agreed to, take legal advice before paying anything more.
Which sections usually apply
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| BNS S. 351 | Criminal intimidation. |
| BNS S. 308 | Extortion, where money is demanded by putting you in fear. |
| BNS S. 356 | Defamation, for example messages to your contacts calling you a fraud. |
| IT Act S. 66E, S. 67 | Publishing private images without consent; publishing obscene material, such as morphed photos. |
The police decide which sections go into the FIR after looking at your facts. This list is a guide, not a charge sheet.
Three ways we can help
Free guidance on WhatsApp
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We draft your cybercrime.gov.in complaint, bank dispute letter, police follow-up and ombudsman escalation, and follow up with you on WhatsApp.
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Prefer to file it yourself? Reporting on 1930 and cybercrime.gov.in is free. The step-by-step portal guide is on codesnag.ai: how to file a cyber crime complaint. All our cyber questions are on the cyber help page.
What people ask
Is it legal for a loan app to call my relatives?
Can a loan app read my contacts and photos?
They sent morphed photos of me to my contacts. What should I do?
Where do I complain about an illegal loan app?
Will the harassment stop if I uninstall the app?
Where these rules come from
- RBI (Digital Lending) Directions, 2025, RBI/2025-26/36, 8 May 2025
- RBI (Commercial Banks – Responsible Business Conduct) Directions, 2025, RBI/DOR/2025-26/170, Chapter IV, Section D: customer liability (transactions up to 31 Dec 2026)
- RBI Sachet portal: report entities taking deposits or lending illegally
- RBI Complaint Management System (cms.rbi.org.in)
- Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026 (issued 16 January 2026, in force from 1 July 2026)
- National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in), Ministry of Home Affairs
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (India Code)
- Information Technology Act, 2000 (India Code)
Last reviewed: 19 Oct 2026. This page gives legal information, not legal advice for your specific case. Rules and portals change; if anything here differs from the official source, the official source prevails. VirtualVakil is not a government portal.