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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Chinese loan apps misuse KYC details of Indians to set up fake bank accounts -Mithun MK

Chinese loan apps misuse KYC details of Indians to set up fake bank accounts -Mithun MK

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published Published on Jun 21, 2021   modified Modified on Jun 23, 2021

-TheNewsMinute.com

There have been cases of people saying that their KYC details, which were shared with the Chinese loan apps, were used to open bank and crypto exchange accounts in their names, without consent.

Shonali*, a 48-year-old lecturer from West Bengal was laid off from a private university in March 2020. The lecturer, facing financial stress, turned to Chinese-owned instant loan applications that provide microloans without collateral, but at high-interest rates. Shonali started using these apps to meet expenses in September but began defaulting by October 2020.

These digital lending apps which provide micro-loans of as little as Rs 1,000 have a shorter repayment period and a much higher interest rate. They typically also charge 14% to 15% of the loan amount as a processing fee and a standard interest rate of 1% a day on average. The interest rates also compound on a weekly or fortnightly basis.

“To pay off one loan I ended up taking loans from about 25 instant loan apps. It was a debt trap and at the time I didn't know any better,” says Shonali. She took instant loans to the tune of Rs 2.4 lakh and faced harassment calls and threats to pay back the loans. “We paid Rs 7.8 lakh with interest as loan repayment. The harassment nearly drove me to suicide but I survived,” she adds. But the nightmare didn't end there.

In December 2020, Shonali briefly lost access to three of her bank accounts. The instant loan app had allegedly gained access to all her personal details from her phone. She then noticed an email from Kotak Mahindra Bank, congratulating her for opening a bank account. She also received an OTP email from Bitbns, a cryptocurrency exchange for an account she has no knowledge of. Cryptocurrency exchanges act as a platform for trading in digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and converting it into real money. “I didn't open any bank account with Kotak nor did I know what a cryptocurrency exchange was. I didn't have access to both these accounts either,” adds Shonali. 

Vikram*, from Chennai, who used Chinese instant loan apps, noticed an SBI bank account, which he did not have access to, had been created using his KYC details in February 2021. He had received an OTP from Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, via email as well. 

Savethem India Foundation, a team of cybersecurity professionals researching the Chinese-operated instant loan and online betting apps since March 2020, has been assisting loan app users who have been duped and connecting them to law enforcement agencies. In February 2021, they documented five instances where accounts were created on crypto exchanges using KYC details of the loan defaulters. While all had crypto exchange wallets created in their name, two also had bank accounts opened in their name. The loan app users were unaware of these bank and crypto exchange accounts being operated using their KYC details. The independent investigators believe there could be many such fake bank and crypto exchange accounts being used to funnel money out of India in the form of cryptocurrencies.

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TheNewsMinute.com, 21 June, 2021, https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/chinese-loan-apps-misuse-kyc-details-indians-set-fake-bank-accounts-151036


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