Instant online loan frauds are rising in India, here’s how to stay safe from such scams
Online loan frauds via several applications are rising at a massive scale in the country. As per a new report by The Times of India, over 180 complaints around loan frauds have been recorded across Ghaziabad since December 25, 2021.
Police said that these apps lure smartphone users with quick loan options without any paperwork or documentation.
How do instant loan frauds work?
Scammers very smartly use amateur smartphone users and trick them. In the process, users are first asked to install a certain app and once that is done, these apps get access to phone contacts, gallery, and all other sensitive information.
Several victims have complained that even after repaying the loan, scammers/ bad actors threatened and humiliated them before their friends and family for committing a load fraud.
As per the report, there have been instances wherein people have received fake legal notices for defaulting on loans.
According to a recent estimation by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), there are more than 1100 online loaning apps available in India, out of which 600 Android apps are unlawful, distributed across over 80 app stores.
To prevent such scams, the RBI recently proposed legislation to make verification of these digital lending apps mandatory.
How to stay safe from such frauds
If you have been one of the victims of this digital loan fraud, here are a few ways to stay safe from them:
1 – Do not install unverified apps on your smartphone. This is even more important for Android users since the Apple App store is slightly more secure.
2 – Do not trust callers who promise easy loans. In most instances, people who promise easy money access are faking.
3 – Install apps like Truecaller that show if a call is from a scammer.
4 – For instant loans, always rely on popular/verified apps like PaySense, Dhani, among others.
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