‘The apps proliferated as the pandemic and the lockdown left millions in India jobless. While many working class jobs have returned, salaried professionals - from engineers and software developers to salesmen - and small businesses have struggled to survive. So the apps helped them out when they needed money quickly.
‘For loans as small as $150 and for periods as short as 15 days, these apps charge a one-time processing fee, a convenience fee and steep interest rates - some as high as 30%. Compare this to to Indian banks, which lend at 10-20% with a tenure of at least 12 months.
‘Like many other apps, at the time of download, these apps too ask for permission to access contacts and photo galleries. When an unsuspecting borrower agrees to this, they become more vulnerable.
"When I investigated one such case, I found that these apps are actually not only able to read and access your contact list, they're also capturing your images, videos and location. They also know many things about you - like, where you have actually used this money, to whom you have transferred this money," says cyber security expert Amit Dubey.’
Read here (BBC, Feb 13, 2021)
