Hours after mid-day front-paged a report on the use of social media and popular apps by unscrupulous digital lenders, a departure from Google Play Store, the Mira-Bhayandar police arrested five people for their alleged role in the extortion of a man. The complainant had come across an ad for a loan app on Instagram. While he downloaded it and never applied for a loan, he was blackmailed to pay up.

The cyber cell of the Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar police said three suspects, identified as Vasai resident Deepak Mishra, 27, Vilber Sharma, 33, and Manoj Sharma, 33, of Naigaon had rented out their bank accounts to the cons for receiving money from borrowers. Each of them received a monthly commission of Rs 50,000, said the police. Mishra owns an export-import firm. One man, believed to be the leader of the group, escaped after getting a hint of the police action, they said.