Final 12 months, Google made it necessary for apps equivalent to mortgage apps to declare their Monetary options to be out there for individuals to obtain. A report has now claimed that regardless of the coverage change to carry these stricter guidelines, greater than a dozen apps are nonetheless out there for obtain from the Google Play Retailer.
In response to nonprofit publication Remainder of World, greater than a dozen predatory mortgage apps which goal and harass customers are nonetheless out there to obtain from Google’s app retailer. These apps have been exploiting debtors in numerous nations, together with Mexico to India.
What are predatory mortgage apps
Some mortgage apps lend small quantities of cash with few necessities and really excessive rates of interest to financially susceptible individuals. They then attempt to get their a refund even earlier than the mortgage reimbursement is due and use numerous tips, equivalent to extortion.
These apps ask for permission to different apps equivalent to digital camera roll or contacts. The publication discovered 15 such apps in Mexico, and out of these 15, 12 explicitly requested for entry. It additionally discovered 10 apps in Peru. The publication stated that every one the apps had been out there to obtain on the time of reporting.
The apps threaten customers with distributing pretend pornographic or incriminating images to their household and associates if funds are usually not made. Moreover, the person information can also be shared with different such apps.
What Google has to say
Google stated that it was conscious of the difficulty and often takes down predatory mortgage apps.
“We take this downside very severely and we’re dedicated to providing a secure platform for billions of Android customers,” Ricardo Zamora López, head of communications for Google Mexico, was quoted as saying.
“We are going to hold investigating and collaborating with the corresponding authorities [in Mexico] within the ongoing investigations, with whom we’ve already established a protocol,” López added.