January 18, 2021
Fake digital lending apps grabbed contact information, pictures and gained network access from their borrowers’ smartphones as part of their lending operations. As the government, regulators and investigative agencies crack down on fake digital lending apps and the Chinese nationals who were operating them, questions remain on how much data was stolen from unsuspecting customers.
Without a data protection law in place, these apps and their operators have gotten away with troves of personal information belonging to borrowers. Several borrowers have committed suicide in the last few months over the harassment they faced from purported employees working for these apps. Not only were borrowers called several times to repay their loans, but the employees would also contact family and friends of the borrowers and attempt to blackmail by posting stories and private information of the borrower on social media.