According to a new report, nearly 300 loan apps are circulating on Google Play and the Apple App Store that exhibit predatory behavior, such as exfiltrating excessive user data from mobile devices and harassing borrowers for repayment.
According to cloud security firm Lookout, these loan apps take advantage of victims’ desire for quick cash to trap them in predatory loan contracts and force them to grant access to sensitive information such as contacts and SMS messages.
Some victims claim that their loans came with hidden fees, high interest rates, and repayment terms that were not as favourable as advertised.
Lookout also discovered evidence that data exfiltrated from devices was occasionally used to pressure borrowers for repayment, which is a common threat tactic used to reveal a borrower’s debt to their networks.
Lookout researchers discovered 251 Android apps that had been downloaded more than 15 million times.
The researchers discovered 35 apps on the Apple App Store that ranked among the top 100 finance apps in their respective regional stores.
Meanwhile, Google removed over 2,000 controversial personal loan apps from its Play Store in India between January and June after consulting with law enforcement agencies.
Google announced in May that it would require personal loan apps in India to provide additional proof of eligibility.
Google ordered loan apps in Kenya to provide proof of licences to operate in the country last month, or they risk being removed from the Google Play store.
