Fake Money Lending Apps in India: As many as 600 illegal money lending apps are operating in India, a report by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said. These apps are available on multiple app stores for Android users to dupe unsuspecting users, the report by RBI Working Group (WG) on digital lending stated. 

The report underlined that there are about 1,100 loans apps currently working that can searched through key words like loan, instant loan, quick loan, etc on the internet. “As per the findings of the WG, there were approximately 1100 lending apps available for Indian Android users across 80+ application stores (from January 01, 2021 to February 28, 2021),” it said. 

Increasing number of fraud complaints

To address the increasing number of complaints involving Digital Lending Apps (DLA), the RBI has set up a separate  portal – Sachet. The portal has been receiving large number of complaints. Around 2562 complaints have been registered from January 2020 to March 2021.

“Majority of the complaints pertain to lending apps promoted by entities not regulated by the Reserve Bank such as companies other than NBFCs, unincorporated bodies and individuals. Another significant chunk of complaints pertains to lending apps partnering with NBFCs especially smaller NBFCs (asset size of less than ₹1000 crore),” the report noted. 

With 572 cases, Maharashtra topped the list of most number of fraud cases registered from a state. Karnataka was second with 394 complaints and Delhi on the third spot registering 352 cases.

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