‘Beware!’ Govt issues cybercrime alert against THIS loan app

The government has issued a warning against online loan app, CashExpand-U Finance Assistant. Cyber Dost, the government cybercrime department, has issued a warning against the CashExpand-U Finance Assistant app on its official X handle.The app has been removed from Google Play Store

“Beware! The CashExpand-U Finance Assistant - Loan app is learnt to be associated with hostile foreign entities.#LoanApps #Cybercrime #DigitalSafety #Lending #I4C #MHA #Cyberdost #Cybersecurity #CyberSafeIndia,” the X post read.

CyberDost mentioned that the app belongs to foreign entities."The loan app is learnt to have been hosted from hostile foreign entities,” the post said.

Users should immediately remove the CashExpand -U Finance Assistant app from their electronic devices to ensure their data is not breached.

Raising small loans has become easier on such lending apps . Lending money from such apps however, is not credential and it may compromise with financial information.

There were 1,062 complaints against such apps in FY23. The data was shared in the Lok Sabha by the Finance Ministry last year.

Google has removed almost 134 fake apps from the Play Store in a week in September 2023 after multiple complaints were registered against such apps.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued regulatory guidelines on digital lending in April. The digital lending guidelines aim to bring transparency in digital loan space.In the December 2023 monetary policy meeting, the central bank said it would draw a regulatory framework for web aggregation of loan products. This comes after the central bank observed some concerns of digital lending harming customers’ interest.

The RBI is planning to create a Digital India Trust Agency (DIGITA) to crack down on cyber frauds and unauthorised lending apps. The agency will verify digital lending apps and maintain a public registry of approved ones. Apps that will not have DIGITA verification will be deemed unauthorised legally. DIGITA will regulate digital lending apps, ensure transparency and accountability in the process.