Google cracks down on fraudulent credit apps

Google is cracking down on predatory lending apps by preventing them from accessing “sensitive”data, including debtors’ contacts, photos and location, after growing criticism that unscrupulous lenders eavesdrop on borrowers’ smartphones to harass and blackmail.

The tech company said Wednesday it will update a policy for financial services apps hosted on the Google Play store at the end of May so that “apps designed to provide or facilitate personal loans cannot access users’ contacts or photos.”

Details provided to Google’s Android mobile system app developers also reveal that for the first time, credit apps will be prevented from requesting access to users’ exact location, phone numbers and videos. The new policy applies to apps that offer personal loans, payday loans, and peer-to-peer loans, but not mortgages, auto loans, or credit cards.

Research has shown that there are hundreds of apps available through Google Play that required potential customers to grant them access to the most personal information on their devices in order to continue using the app. Consent is often obtained on the basis that the data is necessary for conducting a credit check or risk assessment.

However, some victims in regions such as India and Mexico have reported that creditors then used incriminating or fake photos to blackmail them or harass their friends and family through their contact phone book.

These apps capitalize on vulnerable people’s desperate need for cash at a time when many households’ finances have been squeezed by rising inflation, energy prices and other living expenses.

A study by cybersecurity firm Lookout in November found that there are more than 250 apps available on Google Play with over 15 million total downloads in Africa, Southeast Asia, India, Colombia and Mexico that are accused of “stealing excess user data from mobile devices”. and harassing borrowers for repayment.”Another 35 similar applications were also found in the Apple App Store. Apple and Google removed all apps after the Lookout report.

Google declined to comment on changes to its policy. It already blocks apps that require full loan repayment in 60 days or less.

As countries introduced new rules designed to combat the proliferation of digital lenders, Google and Apple are already blocking apps in the US that charge an annual interest rate of 36 percent or higher and have introduced a number of other rules for India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Kenya and Pakistan.

Android has a 70% share of the smartphone market and an estimated 3 billion active users worldwide, including in China, where the Google Play store is not available.