Odisha: Beware of 45 fake loan apps; Are you using them? Check list

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Police’s Economic Offences Wing has asked Google Inc to immediately remove 45 ‘fake’ loan apps from the Google Play Store.

The EOW has recently written to the Legal Investigations Support Team of Google Inc in California, asking it to remove 45 apps suspected of using unethical practices to recover money from borrowers.

“These apps have been illegally providing short term loans at very high interest rates. These apps are not authorised by the RBI to do so. Besides, these loan apps are using illegal methods of harassing, threatening, blackmailing, using extremely filthy language in order to extort money from victim loanees,” the EOW told Google.

They are also harassing their friends/relatives as these loan apps get access to the entire contact list of the victim, it said.

Below is the list of the 45 apps:

1. Beloan App
2. Go Cash
3. Go Go loan
4. INS Loan
5. Asan Loan
6. Fastcash/ Cash Fast
7. Flipcash
8. Rupee Wallet
9. Rupee King
10. Fast Rupee
11. Easy Credit Loan
12. Cash Cola
13. Infinity q
14. Sunshine
15. Agile loan
16. AGLONR
17. Credit wallet
18. OB cash loan
19. Onstream App
20. Money tree
21. Discover loan
22. Cash pocket
23. Hello rupee
24. Small credit
25. Moneyhouse/Crystal loan
26. Fresh loan
27. Cash room
28. Pesin Bee
29. Life stream loan
30. Star loan
31. Yes rupee
32. Eslite loan
33. Ariaeko loan
34. Fast coin/ cash advance
35, Lucky rupee/quick loan/bike loan/cash market/money loan
36. Fair credit loan
37. Ok rupee loan
38. Hone loan/rupee tiger/geta cash/little borrow/rich cash
39. Rupee spark
40. More cash/fish loan
41. Flash rupee
42. Dhani loan
43. Magic money loan
44. Money voult
45. Instant loan/ Dutta loan bike loan/ mobile loan

Many other state police in India are investigating such cases as well. It is also reported that many people have committed suicide because of such illegal, humiliating and torturous activities by these loan apps, wrote the EOW.

Google guidelines prohibit the operation of any app which involves harassment, blackmailing, and threatening people. The apps available on the play store have to follow the local laws and respect the privacy of the users. These fake loan apps have been flouting all these guidelines.

The EOW sleuths, while investigating a loan app fraud case, found that the cyber criminals exploit the “anonymity” feature in connection with the developer/operator of the app on Google play to engage in various criminal practices.

So, the authority further asked Google not to allow any application to operate from the play store if it doesn’t mention the complete details about its developer/creator.

The EOW has recently arrested three cyber criminals who had duped many in the state through such mobile apps.

(IANS)