Amidst the rapidly increasing digital loan facilities, cases of fraud in the name of “instant loan” are also increasing. Many fake apps claim to give loans in short time without much documentation, but later they trap users in problems like huge interest rates, threatening recovery calls and data theft.
Government agencies and cyber security experts have continuously issued warnings about such apps. According to reports, many such unauthorized loan apps are downloaded from Google Play Store or other means and win the trust of people by giving easy loans at the initial level, after which illegal recovery is made from them.
How do these fake loan apps work?
The most common practice of these apps is that they promise to approve the loan with less documents and in minutes. As soon as the user installs the app, permissions for contacts, gallery and other data are taken from him. Later, this data is misused to blackmail or threaten. It has been seen in many cases that these apps pay small amount and later start recovering manifold. Threatening calls and messages are sent to users if payment is not made on time.
Government warned
Government agencies have advised people to check the validity of any unknown loan app before using it. It is considered safe to use only apps associated with RBI approved banks and NBFCs. It has also been said that before downloading any app, it is important to carefully check its rating, review and developer information.
protect yourself like this
According to experts, this type of fraud can be avoided by adopting some precautions.
Take loan only from official banking apps
Do not install unknown apps on your phone
Do not give unnecessary permissions to any app
Read the loan terms carefully before taking it
If you receive threats, immediately complain to the cyber crime portal.
Increasing threat of cyber fraud
As fast as the facilities are increasing in the digital loan sector, fraud is also increasing at the same rate. Experts say that awareness is the biggest defense and users should not take any financial decision in haste.