Apple has reportedly removed several malicous lending apps targeting unsuspecting users in India. The apps had allegedly used unethical methods in order to collect repayments, like threatening to send deepfake nudes to the borrowers’ personal contacts.
In the last week, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has removed various Fintech lending apps from its online store, which reportedly includes Pocket Kash, White Kash, Golden Kash, and OK Rupee.
According to an update from Apple Insider, these Fintech apps became quite popular amongst Indian clients and notably secured positions in the top-20 of the finance category on the App Store.
But many user reviews unveiled that these types of exploitative apps had imposed exorbitant and bogus charges, resulting in dissatisfaction among clients.
After an inquiry made by TechCrunch, Apple initiated the process of removing these lending apps from its online store.
In addition to imposing hefty charges, the lenders reportedly decided to use unethical methods to force borrowers into making repayments. For instance, one individual revealed that White Kash had actually accessed a person’s contact list and then claimed it would be sending nude pics with her morphed face to various contacts.
Apple said that it had proceeded to take down such apps as they had clearly violated the Apple Developer Program License Agreement and relevant guidelines.
The firm also mentioned that the apps had been making misleading or inaccurate assertions like being affiliated with an established financial institution.
Apple’s management stated:
“The App Store, and our App Review Guidelines, are designed to ensure we are providing the safest experience possible to our users. We do not tolerate fraudulent activity on the App Store, and have stringent rules against apps and developers who attempt to cheat the system.”
The steady growth of the fintech sector in India has also resulted in the rise of these malicious lending apps.
This development is associated with the rapidly increasing adoption of smartphones in the nation and the economic requirements of the country’s residents.
By exploiting regulatory loopholes, various online service providers now provide unsecured loans with really high interest rates, promising nearly instant approval for such loans.
Unsuspecting consumers, like those who do not have convenient access to traditional or mainstream financial services, become easy targets for these abusive practices.
Apple is known for being relatively slow when it comes to addressing these issues.
The company is also known for waiting until they’re brought to public attention.
For example, app developers have reported many complaints with the App Store review process, noting that Apple does not provide meaningful feedback.
And several reports have uncovered how a fairly large number of fraudulent apps are able to slip through the review process and then find their way to the App Store.
Apple emphasized that it stopped more than $2 billion in fraudulent transactions from the App Store last year.
The firm also claims that it had turned down around 1.7 million app submissions that didn’t meet its standards for quality and consumer protection/safety.