Get rid of these 17 Google Play apps before you start getting blackmailed

Get rid of these 17 Google Play apps before you start getting blackmailed،

You no longer need to visit a bank to make a payment, thanks to fintech apps like Venmo and PayPal. Apparently inspired by these apps, the internet is now full of dangerous SpyLoan apps that claim to be there to lend you money but have ulterior motives.

Researchers at cybersecurity company ESET discovered that these loan requests are increasing. These apps target vulnerable people in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America who are in urgent need of money. Often, these victims cannot access established financial assistance channels.

In 2022, Google and Apple removed several SpyLoan apps from their stores. They are also distributed through third-party stores and websites.

18 additional apps were introduced to Google Play this year and 17 of them were downloaded 12 million times before being removed. An application remains available because its developers have modified its operation and is therefore no longer considered dangerous.

The authors market the apps through social media platforms such as Twitter (X), Facebook and YouTube, as well as via SMS.

SpyLoan apps promise instant loan but charge unusually high interest rate and expect quick repayment

Get rid of these 17 Google Play apps before you get blackmailed

The apps promise quick financial help and use deceptive techniques to get approved on Google Play. To appear authentic, they claim to be closely affiliated with well-known lenders and financial institutions or are designed to look like legitimate lending apps. Some even have official websites with a fake board with photos and office images scraped from other websites.

Once the SpyLoan app is downloaded, it asks the user to agree to the terms of service, grant various permissions including access to call logs, storage, media files, contact lists and location data, and provide personal information such as address, contact information, bank account information and photo ID card. Once the people behind the apps have access to all this user information, they start blackmailing victims into paying them back even if a user never applied for a loan or their loan was not approved.

They do not follow Google's policies, which cap interest rates and have a repayment period of more than 60 days. For example, in one case, someone requested 450 pesos and had to return it within 5 days with the interest amount of 549 pesos.

If anyone refuses to comply, they are threatened with disastrous consequences, even death.

Here are the names of the applications:

AA credit
Love Cash
GuayabaCash
EasyCredit
Cashew
CreditBus
Flash Loan
PréstamosCrédito
Crédito-YumiCash Prestamos
Come on Credito
Instant Prestamo
Large card
Quick Credit
Finupp loans
4S Silver
TrueNaira
EasyCash

If you have already downloaded any of the apps mentioned above, delete them immediately. If someone is being harassed, they should contact law enforcement authorities. To stay safe, only download apps from trusted sources and check reviews and ratings before installing an app.