Google took down over 2,500 fraudulent mortgage apps from its Play Retailer between April 2021 and July 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reportedly claimed in a written reply to a question within the Lok Sabha Monday. The minister additionally stated that the Reserve Financial institution of India (RBI) had shared ‘whitelist’ of betting apps with the federal government to separate functions that function legally from those who flout pointers. Earlier this yr, the Indian authorities banned over 230 Chinese language-linked lending apps that facilitate betting and loans following complaints of extortion and harassment.
In line with Sitharaman, the federal government has been in talks with the RBI and different trade stakeholders over curbing unlawful mortgage apps within the nation, a report within the Mint stated.
“Between April 2021 and July 2022, Google additionally reviewed roughly 3,500 to 4,000 mortgage lending apps and suspended or eliminated over 2,500 fraudulent mortgage apps from its Play Retailer,” Sitharaman was quoted as saying within the report. The problem of fraudulent mortgage apps is frequently introduced up in conferences of the Monetary Stability and Growth Council (FSDC), the report added.
The FM additionally stated {that a} ‘whitelist of authorized mortgage apps, ready by the RBI, had been shared with the federal government and additional despatched to Google, as effectively. The search engine large has additionally up to date its Play Retailer coverage on enforcement of mortgage lending apps and carried out stricter necessities for lending apps within the nation.
Again in April, Google had stated that it had acted towards greater than 3,500 mortgage apps in India for violating Play Retailer coverage necessities. The corporate had claimed it prevented 1.43 million policy-violating apps from being revealed on Google Play, banned 173,000 unhealthy accounts, and prevented over $2 billion (practically Rs. 16,350 crore) in fraudulent and abusive transactions final yr.
Google’s announcement had come weeks after the Indian authorities banned over 230 mortgage lending and betting apps with Chinese language hyperlinks following complaints of extortion and harassment from debtors in February. The crackdown on mortgage apps noticed 138 betting apps and 94 mortgage lending apps blocked beneath Part 69 of the IT Act.
In March, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed fees towards fee gateway Razorpay and three Chinese language-linked fintech firms, amongst others, in a cash laundering probe linked to fraudulent mortgage lending apps.
Along with Razorpay, corporations named within the chargesheet included fintech firms Mad Elephant Community Expertise Personal Restricted, Baryonyx Expertise Personal Restricted and Cloud Atlas Future Expertise Personal Restricted — all allegedly managed by Chinese language nationals — and three non-banking monetary firms (NBFCs) registered with RBI.
Earlier this month, safety researchers revealed particulars of apps utilized by mortgage sharks to defraud customers, and listed the strategies utilized by the apps to bypass among the restrictions put in place on the Play Retailer. As many as 18 apps recognized as ‘SpyLoan’ malware had been discovered on the Play Retailer in 2023.
