LCredit loan app use to be one of the many loan apps in Nigeria giving out quick loans to customers but recent happenings and developments have revealed their true identity to be a loan shark terrorising borrowers.
Actually the way fake loan apps in Nigeria such as LCredit loan app, 9Credit and others send shame and defamatory messages to their customers and their contact lists is becoming alarming, worrisome and calls for urgent attention from government financial authorities and consumer protection agencies such as the (Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) respectively.
If you have been a steady borrower or regular patron of instant loan applications in Nigeria for some while now, it would have been obvious to you that once upon a time there was a lending application called LCredit loan app on the Google Play Store known for its notorious and fraudulent activities in sending defamatory messages to people’s contacts barely days after taking a loan.
If you are a new customer and just started seeking for credible and legit loan apps and have been seeing this application listed on blogs as a fake app, you may be asking: What happened to LCredit loan app? Why was it shut down? Why was it taken down and banned from operating in Nigeria?
LCredit loan app was taken down from Google Play Store by Play Protect, an Android security system that scans apps hosted on Play Store for malware and other malicious virus and fraudulent apps and protects users from privacy infringement and invasion. LCredit is in the regular indecent habit of violating the policy rules of Google Play and breaching its customers’ data privacy by exposing them to the public and threatening them and their contact list.
What Company Owns LCredit Loan App?
LCredit loan app is owned by Cashigo International Limited and managed by some Chinese allies who portray the attitude of defaming Nigerians barely days after their loan tenure without providing additional extension or grace period. These Chinese owners are mostly loan sharks which charges very high interest and harass Nigerian customers.
Is LCredit Loan App Genuine or is it a fake loan application?
No, LCredit loan app is not genuine or legit lending platform for any reason. LCredit is a fake loan app and one of the worst money borrowing platforms that ever existed in Nigeria. The app sends defamatory messages to contacts once you take a loan with them. LCredit would start sending threatening messages to your contacts, friends, and families and exposing your photos and banking details on social media, asking you to pay back your loan even before the expiration date.
Is LCredit Loan App Download Safe?
LCredit loan app is no longer safe to download. In fact it can no longer be downloaded from Google Play Store or ASpps Store as the platform infringed on users’ privacy and violated Google policy on protecting the integrity of customers’ data. The loan app is fond of continuously defaming and sendingshame messages to its customers, which has resulted in its permanent ban from the Play Store.
Who Are LCredit Loan Defaulters?
There are a lot of LCredit loan defaulters no doubt. Despite the fact that the loan company is in the habit of threatening and defaming users’ privacies, they were still some defaulters who blatantly refused to repay their loans within and during the expiration of their loan tenure. For any reason you are taking a loan, you should be willing to pay back and not become a loan defaulter and be denied further opportunities for a loan the next time an emergency happens.
What Is LCredit WhatsApp Number?
LCredit always uses about two different WhatsApp and Telephone numbers to defame and threaten its customers. The numbers are 01 227 1640 and 0708 004 8717. However, Cashigo International Limited, the owner of the platform’s official LAN Line is 01 631 0555.
What Happened to LCredit loan App? Why Was It Banned?
LCredit loan app was taken down from Google Play Store by Play Protect, an Android security system that scans apps hosted on Play Store for malware and other malicious virus and fraudulent apps and protects users from privacy infringement and invasion. LCredit is fond of violating the policy rules of Google and breaching its customers’ data privacy by exposing them to the public and threatening them.
Google had caught LCredit app trying to spy on phone contacts, recordings, photos, banking details and other sensitive contents on the devices of its customers. This is against Google Privacy Policy and the infringing app was immediately removed from Play Store.
Scam loan app without physical address or website
LCredit online loan app has been banned by google play store over policy violation issues. The platform has no physical office address, neither does it has a website or social media pages. They claim you can borrow money online with their loan app in minutes with a flexible repayment plan and favorable interest rate. However all the claims are false and fraudulent.
Obinna Michael on October 21 expressed his disappointment with LCredit loan app. He says, “Money that has been paid with proof of transaction slips, LCredits loan app keep sending messages of defaults to contacts. If their systems are faulty they should fix it properly before coming into the business!”
Many of these loan apps do not have any physical office address, do not have a website, some don’t even have any online presence yet they found their way somehow into Google Play Store and get into scamming poor Nigerians of their hard earned money. Google should bring down and clampdown on more of these loan apps once they are discovered to be violating its set down policies.
How loan apps are spying your banking, sms and contact details
Recently LCredit loan app, Rapid Transfer and some yet to be identified quick loan apps were removed by Google from its Play Store for violating its operational policies.
Our investigation reveals that LCredit was banned by Google because the loan app was discovered by Play Protect, the security system on Play Store that scans apps hosted on its network, as involving in malicious and fraudulent activities.
It is noteworthy to say that the proliferation of fake loan apps is fast endangering and threatening the financial and digital evolution which has in greater terms facilitated financial inclusiveness of many Nigerians who have hitherto been inaccessible to the traditional banking system, and except regulatory authorities check their operations, more crisis may be ahead.
Google discovered that LCredit loan app was trying to spy on phone contacts, recordings, Photos and other private content on the android devices of its users, contracy to Google laid down privacy policy.
Play Protect by Google had warned users back then: “This app (LCredit App) tries to spy on your personal data such as sms messages, photos, audio recording or call history.” It went further to warn users to immediately uninstall the blacklisted LCredit app from their phone, and that if they fail to do so, and open the app, they do so at their risk.
LCredit Threatening Our Lives Over Unpaid Loans — Customers Cry Out
LCredit loan app is the of worst lending platforms to ever exist in Nigeria judging from the way and manner it has been conducting its activities, nothing could be more unethical and uncouth in the serial abuses and invasion of privacy that LCredit has subjected its various customers to.
We had exclusively reported earlier that the internet giant, Google removed Rapid Naira and LCredit loan apps from its Play Store after found to be serially violating its policies on loan application, approval and loan tenure, terms and conditions, and privacy polices guiding finance apps hosted on its network.
This medium has been on the forefront reporting against scam apps such as LCredits, Rapid Naira ForNaira and some others on Google Play Store predating on poor Nigerians and violating Google Policies on lending apps.
Some former customers and borrowers of LCredit loan app told VERY SERIAL that the online loan platform is fond of threatening their lives over due and unpaid loans they collected from the app.
The customers were responding to an earlier article we published titled LCredit Still Threatening, Blackmailing Customers, Contacts After Google Play Ban where we accused the quick loan platform of continuing to threaten and blackmail its customers even after it was banned by Google Play Store.
Find below threatening complaints against LCredit by their customers:
Lara Cries Out Against LCredit, Says Loan App After Her Life
Please LCredit loan app is after my life. There’s this lady from there threatening me. I can drop her number. I borrowed 17k and was told am to repay #25,580. She’s still disturbing me as we speak.
It’s not even like I won’t pay them, but they should try and understand people and give us more time. But they won’t listen and they keep adding late fee to it. Kindly help me out coz I don’t have no money right now. I’m helpless. 09015033842 this is her number.
Olajumoke Says LCredit After Her Life
Good morning please Lcredit loan app is after my life ooo. They have been threatening me if I fail to repay their money today and I’ve been trying my best to do so. Their money remain just 3k but they’ve increased it to 30160 now. One of their agent is chatting me up now that he has reduced the money to 17160 now and that I should repay it before 2pm today, else they will be sending messages to all my contacts and they will hack my BVN and other things that is valuable for me.
I could not sleep or do anything again. Please help a soul ooo, I don’t know what to do again am scared. All my contacts are very important to me please help me.
LCredit Wants Him To Commit Suicide – Anonymus
Good evening please LCredit loan app want me to commit suicide. I’m owing them 60,000 and I told them to allow me to be paying in bits but they said no I must pay it all at once and they have started calling most of my contacts telling them I am a frudster and that I’m owing them and that if I did not pay, they will come and arrest me .
LCredit Has Been Threatening My Life – Sensie
Good evening please LCredit has been threatening my life I collected a loan and I used it to pay my children school fees, Since then I have not rested. They are sending all sorts of defamatory messages to my contacts even though I have been paying them weekly.
How LCredit Was Finally Booted Out Of Google Play Store Over Serial Policy Violations
Multiple violating loan app in Nigeria, LCredit has been finally shown the way out of Google Play Store after our damning report on the serial abuses, loan application and tenure violation and abuse of customer data privacy and other several infringements recorded against the lending platform.
What Happened To LCredit Loan App? Why Was It Banned From Google Play Store?
LCredit loan app was removed from Google Play Store by Play Protect, an Android security system that scans apps hosted on Google for malware and other malicious virus and fraudulent apps and protects users from privacy infringement and invasion. LCredit is a serial loan app offender that is in the habit of accessing borrowers’ data, exposing them to the public and blackmailing them.
Google had warned users from using LCredit app because it was trying to spy on phone contacts, recordings, photos, banking details and other sensitive contents on their devices. This is against Google Privacy Policy.
QUICK LOAN ARENA had exclusively reported in Novermber that Google has restored and readmitted the rogue app, LCredit into its Play Store exactly one month after the initial ban. The internet giant has removed LCredit and Rapid Naira from the Store on the 21st of October, for data breach and violation of customers’ data privacy.
We quickly reported the life threatening story made by LCredit against some customers and also made a formal report to Google Inc through their Nigerian representative asking for the internet giant to take action against the scam loan app and remove it from its play store.
Evidence of How LCredit Loan App threatens borrowers
Fortunately this time around, Google responded to our story and the threats by LCredit loan app against Nigerians and booted the scam loan app from its playstore. With this ban, Nigerians can finally have some good rest and patronize only reliable urgent loan apps.
Run From LCredit Loan App, They Are The Most Fraudulent After Rapid Naira
Various findings and testimonials from users and customers indicate that LCredit loan app is one of the most fraudulent lending platforms to ever exist in Nigeria. Our analysis shows that only Rapid Naira, another serial offending app, can match and possibly exceed the infractions of LCredit.
Isnt’t it a great wonder that Nigerians in their numbers are still patronising LCredit loan app for soft loan and getting defamed and bashed and publicly blackmailed by the app, which has since been booted out of Google Play Store and banned from operating in the shored of Nigeria.
Google Policy Statements On Loan Apps Indict LCredit, Rapid Naira and Other Fake Loan Apps
One of the policy statements of Google for loan apps hosted on its Play Store states: “We only allow personal loan apps with full repayment required in greater than or equal to 60 days from the date the loan is issued… apps that fail to do so will be removed without further notice.”
Another Google Policy states that: “Any app that offer personal loans with an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of 36% or higher are no longer expected to be available on the Play Store. To keep their apps in the Play Store, lenders must adjust their products and business models to meet Google’s requirements.”
However many of the lending apps, including LCredit and many other loan apps in Nigeria give loan ranging from 7 days to 30 days at very exhorbitant interest rate and APR higher than that specified by Google. The network should enforce its policies and show these violating apps the way out.
Loan apps are required to indicate minimum and maximum period of repayment, maximum annual percentage rate, and other information, which most either misrepresent or omit. In particular, by offering loans of just seven days, for instance, these providers clearly flout a major criterion by Google that no tenor should be less than 60 days.
“I was broke then and under pressure to settle certain things,” said Chidi, who borrowed N10,000 each from three of such apps in mid-2021, a total of N30,000 ($72) but defaulted after the 2-week tenor. This led to a tsunami of messages and calls, first to threaten him to repay, then to all his phone contacts. He identified iCoin as one of the apps but couldn’t recollect the others when interviewed.
Google states in their policy on personal loans: Advertisers for personal loans must prominently disclose additional information on their destination site or app. Disclosures increase transparency and provide consumers with valuable information to make informed decisions.
The following is not allowed:
- Failure to provide minimum and maximum period for repayment. Failure to provide maximum Annual Percentage Rate (APR), which generally includes interest rate plus fees and other costs for a year, or similar other rate calculated consistently with local law.
- Failure to display a representative example of the total cost of the loan, including all applicable fees.
- Personal loans which require repayment in full in 60 days or less from the date the loan is issued. This policy applies to advertisers who offer loans directly, lead generators, and those who connect consumers with third-party lenders.
- The amount a person is eligible to borrow is determined by the work they do and income. Also, when a person borrows and pays back, it qualifies them for another (higher) loan.
A Google spokesperson, when asked for the company’s reaction to conducts of loan apps hosted on playstore, told BusinessDay the company has very strict policies that guide apps that are allowed on the Playstore platform.
“When we find violations, we take very strong actions, including sometimes taking down the app from our platform. Violations can be reported by clicking the ‘Flag as inappropriate’ link under the menu on the Google Play store. When reports are received, We investigate, and take clear actions,” Google said.
Apart from violating the terms by Google playstore, the loan apps have also been alleged to contravene Nigeria’s data privacy law on one hand, and cyber security law on the other.
Conclusion
This medium has written countless number of stories and reports about the fraudulent activities of the scam LCredit loan app and spread widely to Nigerians. Even Google has once alerted Nigerians that LCredit app was spying their banking and personal information. Yet customers won’t stop from borrowing money from them.
We warn Nigerians not to patronize the scam LCredit loan app anymore. In conclusion we ask: What’s the special attraction to LCredit for Nigerians that they still feel comfortable to borrow money from this unrepentant fraudulent, defamatory and scam lending platform whose only objective is to shame and defame its customers and borrowers?
