Hyderabad: About 70 percent of people are applying for loans through apps despite high-interest rates, according to a survey conducted on loan apps by Way2News, India’s largest vernacular news app. A total of 43 percent of respondents have received calls from phone marketers asking them to apply for a loan through an app for the past two years, the survey stated. People were aware that these apps attract high-interest rates but still opted for them in times of need.
Another 51 percent of respondents said that they or someone in their family or friends have availed of such a loan while 67 percent of those surveyed have been harassed or know of friends and family who have been hit by loan sharks, the survey conducted in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana said.
Despite facing harassment from loan sharks,79 percent of respondents did not know where to complain. “We have seen many complaints concerning loan apps, so we decided to survey to understand the number of people affected. The findings are alarming,” said Venkat Aditya Gunturu, Content Head, Way2News. In both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, this survey was conducted among users of the Way2News app and the majority of the respondents are in the age group of 21- 30, it said.
According to the police, the fraudsters hack into the app user’s phones and take their data, including bank information, emails, and images. They then start tormenting the user by sending their friends, coworkers, and family the user’s modified pictures.
The Hyderabad Police also issued red corner notices against a few Chinese citizens for their connections with these illicit online loan app operations.
Google India removed many of these lending apps from their Play Store. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also established a working group to investigate the operations of regulated and unregulated businesses in digital lending.
