Cybersecurity firm McAfee urged Android users to delete 15 predatory loan apps it recently identified, warning of a recent rise in this particular brand of scam apps.
SpyLoan apps, or predatory loan apps, lure users with promises of quick and easy loans, but they are designed to steal sensitive information and force users into paying predatory interest rates or hidden fees, or subject victims to other ways of extortion and harassment.
The 15 apps, which share a common framework to collect data from victims’ devices, have been installed in over 8 million devices, McAfee said on Nov. 25.
“We reported the apps discovered to Google who have notified the developers that their apps violate Google Play policies and fixes are needed to come into compliance,” McAfee said in its blog post.
Google has since suspended some of the apps, while others were updated by their developers to comply with Google’s regulations.
McAfee said its proprietary mobile security app will continue to detect the updated apps as nefarious, due to the past unethical practices of their publishers—and the potential for future abuse. In addition, none of the publishers “were licensed or registered with the authorities that regulate financial services in each jurisdiction where they operate,” McAfee said.
Despite being scams, the apps had good scores on Google Play, which McAfee said was the result of “many fake positive reviews,” interspersed with alarming reviews.
“They start calling and threatening you with edited photos and posting them on social media, even sending them to your contacts,” one person wrote in a review.
“Horrible app, they don’t show you how much interest they will charge, which is a lot,” another said, while others complained about receiving intimidating calls and even death threats.
While the 15 nefarious apps mainly targeted South America, Southern Asia, and Africa, McAfee emphasized that Spyloan remains “a global issue.”
Malicious loan apps have been around since 2020, with incidences rapidly on the rise: the number of malicious SpyLoan apps and infected devices has increased by over 75 percent since the summer of 2024, according to McAfee.
How to Recognize Loan Apps
Though loan apps often use names, logos, and user interfaces that mimic bona fide financial institutions, and often advertise themselves on social media networks, there are a few rules of thumb that may help you identify SpyLoan apps.
- Remarkably minimal loan conditions and interest rates, highlighted by time-limited offers and countdowns that create a false sense of urgency to trick users into making hasty decisions.
- The contact information of the loan institution is often from free service email domains, such as Gmail or Outlook, not from a formal business account.
- Requesting access to an unnecessary amount of data, including contacts, text messages, calendar, phone call records, stored media, and even the phone’s microphone or camera.
- Requesting additional sensitive information, such as copies of photos of legal documents, bank account information, IDs, and more.
People who think they have been scammed can file a complaint at the federal Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), or report to a local FBI office if threats and harassment are involved.