Online scammers target desperate loan seekers using online fraud

By James On Oct 24, 2023

Hackers are stealing money from gullible victims looking for a payday loan and moving it to China, experts warn.

A new report from cyber security experts CloudSEK has suggested that such activity means there is a need for greater international cooperation to stop this type of fraud.

According to the report, hackers (whom CloudSEK believes to be Chinese) have created more than four dozen Android apps masquerading as popular Indian banks. These apps are hosted on various third-party app repositories and standalone websites. They are then ‘aggressively’ advertised via social media. The advertisements promise fast and substantial loans and easy repayments.

Thousands of dollars stolen

Gullible consumers who fall for the trick are then asked to share personal information such as their name, address, phone number and bank account details. In addition, they are asked to pay a processing fee, usually 5% of the loan they are applying for. When that happens, the app shuts down, the loan never reaches the victim’s bank account, and the money is gone.

Apparently, the hackers managed to steal more than $44,000 this way. Worst of all, the money is quickly moved across the border into China, where the lack of proper surveillance allows the attackers to effectively hide their tracks. This is made possible by the use of various payment gateways, not only Chinese, but also Indonesian, Malaysian, South African, Mexican, Brazilian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Philippine and Colombian.

“One notable trend we have observed is that scammers are exploiting Chinese payment gateways due to their relative ease of use and limited regulatory oversight. These gateways provide a convenient bridge to funnel money outside India, using advanced techniques that blur jurisdictional boundaries, making it challenging to track and intercept the money trail,” said Sparsh Kulshrestha, Senior Security Analyst at CloudSEK.

“This allows scammers to bypass legal and financial roadblocks, making it imperative for authorities to improve cooperation and take advanced measures to counter this sophisticated threat.”