Apple says it is on alert of the shocking tactics being used by malicious themed loan apps that were found on its App Store.
The tech giant confirmed that a handful of apps were forcefully deleted by the firm after they were proven to be involved in outrageous schemes that were designed to threaten and deceive users.
This includes threatening to send out explicit images to users’ contact lists and even charging them a whopping sum for fees that are more than half the loan value. Moreover, the incident was reported from India where officials claim that four of the six apps removed had even made to the list of top 20 leading financial apps to be used in the country, moments before Apple got rid of it.
The tech giant says it’s very much aware of how third-party app stores tend to force iPhone users into doing things that are not only illegal but against their wishes so it knew that this was going to be one of those serious ordeals.
Scam apps continue to pop up despite the company playing an active role to evade them from causing users harm. But again, experts are raising eyebrows in terms of how the apps end up making it to the App Store despite so many stringent rules and regulations in place by the Cupertino giant.
Did we mention how the firm is accused of gaining major cuts from the profits made by such apps? This might be one reason why they’re getting by the firm’s review process, at the end of the day.
As recently unveiled by media outlet TechCrunch this week, the firm says nearly six apps that are designed to give users loans were deleted after being proven guilty of unethical and illegal behavior.
Some of the leading names in the list of apps that were removed included Golden Kash, Pocket Kash, and another popular one called OK Rupee. Such platforms promised to give lenders quick options for cash loans without asking for very much in return. These ended up reaching the top of the list for finance apps in the country and they were also seen charging outrageous amounts as per the data mentioned in user reviews.
Some of these platforms even wrongly made claims that they had links to real banks as well as other financial entities, right before they engaged in behavior such as fee processing that included figures that were half of the loan asked for. How’s that for some shocking behavior? On top of that, the rates for interest being charged were also mindblowing and incomparable to authentic places.
Anyone that cannot pay such fees had to encounter some bigger issues, including allowing apps to get access to their contact lists and the firm threatening to send nudes to contacts in cases when they could not offer the return payment.
One person even revealed how they were mortified to learn that the firm threatened to produce fake nude pictures of them and forward them to those on her list. The company would morph the face and forward it down to those they knew, clearly striking major concerns.
Thankfully, Apple was able to ward off the threats by being quick on its feet and removing the apps that it claims popped up in dozens. The company also issued a statement in this regard, including how it has zero tolerance for things like fraud. So it’s a relief to see Apple aware of what’s going on and taking immediate action.
Read next: Inside the App Store’s Exclusive Million-Dollar Monthly Club
The tech giant confirmed that a handful of apps were forcefully deleted by the firm after they were proven to be involved in outrageous schemes that were designed to threaten and deceive users.
This includes threatening to send out explicit images to users’ contact lists and even charging them a whopping sum for fees that are more than half the loan value. Moreover, the incident was reported from India where officials claim that four of the six apps removed had even made to the list of top 20 leading financial apps to be used in the country, moments before Apple got rid of it.
The tech giant says it’s very much aware of how third-party app stores tend to force iPhone users into doing things that are not only illegal but against their wishes so it knew that this was going to be one of those serious ordeals.
Scam apps continue to pop up despite the company playing an active role to evade them from causing users harm. But again, experts are raising eyebrows in terms of how the apps end up making it to the App Store despite so many stringent rules and regulations in place by the Cupertino giant.
Did we mention how the firm is accused of gaining major cuts from the profits made by such apps? This might be one reason why they’re getting by the firm’s review process, at the end of the day.
As recently unveiled by media outlet TechCrunch this week, the firm says nearly six apps that are designed to give users loans were deleted after being proven guilty of unethical and illegal behavior.
Some of the leading names in the list of apps that were removed included Golden Kash, Pocket Kash, and another popular one called OK Rupee. Such platforms promised to give lenders quick options for cash loans without asking for very much in return. These ended up reaching the top of the list for finance apps in the country and they were also seen charging outrageous amounts as per the data mentioned in user reviews.
Wtf is this, a personal loan app called Kash is threatening to send morphed nude photos of their customer to her entire contact list?! pic.twitter.com/5LcsukVgef
— Sandhya Ramesh (@sandygrains) July 3, 2023
Some of these platforms even wrongly made claims that they had links to real banks as well as other financial entities, right before they engaged in behavior such as fee processing that included figures that were half of the loan asked for. How’s that for some shocking behavior? On top of that, the rates for interest being charged were also mindblowing and incomparable to authentic places.
Anyone that cannot pay such fees had to encounter some bigger issues, including allowing apps to get access to their contact lists and the firm threatening to send nudes to contacts in cases when they could not offer the return payment.
One person even revealed how they were mortified to learn that the firm threatened to produce fake nude pictures of them and forward them to those on her list. The company would morph the face and forward it down to those they knew, clearly striking major concerns.
Thankfully, Apple was able to ward off the threats by being quick on its feet and removing the apps that it claims popped up in dozens. The company also issued a statement in this regard, including how it has zero tolerance for things like fraud. So it’s a relief to see Apple aware of what’s going on and taking immediate action.
Read next: Inside the App Store’s Exclusive Million-Dollar Monthly Club
