Scam loan apps in the App Store threaten to send fake nudes to contacts

At least six scam loan apps have been removed from Apple’s official App Store in India after it was revealed that they engaged in a range of outrageous tactics, from fees of up to half the loan value, to threatening to send fake nudes to the contact lists of borrowers.

Four of the apps made it into the top 20 financial apps in India before Apple removed them …

Background

Apple has long argued that antitrust regulators should not force it to allow third-party app stores, as only the official store can protect iPhone users from malware and scam apps, though it does now appear to have accepted the inevitable in Europe at least.

Others have been less convinced, with numerous examples of scam apps that have made it through the App Store review process – some of them raking in literally millions of dollars a year, with Apple of course receiving its cut of the proceeds.

Scam loan apps

TechCrunch reports that at least six loan apps have been removed due to unethical or illegal practices.

Pocket Kash, White Kash, Golden Kash, and OK Rupee are among the apps that Apple pulled from the store this week. The apps offered fast-track lending to consumers in India, climbing to the top 20 of the finance list on the App Store in recent weeks. But they also levied outrageously superfluous charges, according to hundreds of user reviews.

Some of the apps falsely claimed to be associated with legitimate banks and other financial institutions, before engaging in practices like levying “processing fees” of half the amount loaned, with exorbitant interest rates charged on top.

Anyone unable to pay these fees and charges faced even bigger problems. The apps required users to grant access to contacts when applying for a loan, and the companies would then threaten to message all of their contacts if they didn’t pay.

One user said that the app company even threatened to create fake nudes of her, and to send these to her contacts.

My friend’s sister used an app named white Kash to take a loan and now they’ve access to her contact list. They’re also threatening to send her nude pics (they morphed her face) to her contact list.

The site reports that Apple has now removed “at least half a dozen apps,” admitting that in addition to the shock tactics, the developers were also “falsely representing an association with a financial institution.”

Apple says that it doesn’t tolerate fraud.

“The App Store, and our App Review Guidelines, are designed to ensure we are providing the safest experience possible to our users,” Apple said.  “We do not tolerate fraudulent activity on the App Store, and have stringent rules against apps and developers who attempt to cheat the system.”

Photo: Roman Synkevych/Unsplash