CashLoan App Review: This app is a scam
With the economic situation in Nigeria, most people are turning to loan apps to meet their immediate financial needs. And most of these loan apps do provide quick cash that can be repaid when you get your next paycheck – even though they operate unregulated.
But with the proliferation of these loan apps, it has created an avenue for fraudsters to prey on unsuspecting borrowers. One of such apps they use is called Cashloan app on Google play store.
Cashloan app describes itself as a quick online loan app, and so far has over 10k downloads.
It says if you you downloan the APP and register an account, you can get a loan between NGN 5,000~~NGN 500,000.
The app further gives details of it’s loan as follows:
Loan Amount: ₦20,000 ~ ₦300,000
Loan Term: the shortest is 91 days, the longest is 365 days
Loan interest: It depends on the customer’s risk profile and loan period. The interest rate is from 12% to 25% per annum.
Service charge: 0%.
For example:
If you apply for a loan of ₦30,000, the term is 180 days and the annual interest rate is 15%.
So the daily interest rate=15%/365=0.041%, the interest for 180 days =₦30,000×15%/365×180= ₦2,214, the totally repayment=₦30,000+₦2,214= ₦32,214.f you choose a 12-month loan and borrow NGN 20,000, cashloan charges an interest rate of 2.08% per month. And the interest rate is 25%, we would charge you N5,000 as interest of 12-month repayment period. Total amount of repayment is NGN 25,000.
These claims are untrue. The app collects your details like other apps but makes you a loan offer that is too good to be true and then ask you to make a deposit of small amount like N3,000 to get N100,000 loan. ones you get tempted and make the payment, you have been scammed!
Here is how the scam works; when you download the app you will be prompted to provide your KYC details like every other loan app, then you will be asked to bind your ATM card to your account as a means of repayment. The app will then make you a loan offer that is too good to be true but asked to make an upfront part payment of your loan.
This is the scam Cashloan does, ones you make your upfront payment the app will start to malfunction and will not take you any further instead it will redirect you to the advert of other loan apps.
Is Cashloan legit?
No, Cashloan is a scam app that doesn’t give loans to customers, the app has all the known features of a scam app. The app asks you to make upfront and refer you to other money lenders.
Read what other users are saying about this app, it is mostly complains from people who have lost money to the scam app and other potential victims whose app malfunctioned before they make their payments. The address on the app is also fake, and no functional developer contact on the app.
How to detect a fake loan app
Note that loan apps in Nigeria operate unregulated, they are mostly unlicensed by the CBN and Google play store is merely a library for apps, it does not carry out verification before allowing them on it’s platform. So you are responsible for your own security when you download and use them. You can stay safe by looking out for the following red flags:
- Loan apps asking for KYC information including your BVN and asking you to bind your ATM card to your account is normal, but when an app is asking you to make upfront payments or pay for processing fee, such an app is most likely a scam.
- Always read other customer’s review on play store or read reviews on websites like this before downloading any loan app.
- If an app does not have a contact phone number, or the phone number is not functional, that is a red-flag.
- Pay attention to fake reviews on Google playstore, most of this apps pay spammers to write reviews for them. Most of the reviews will be from foreign accounts and will mostly give the app a five star without any reasonable comment.
- Dont part with money for what ever reason before getting your loan.
- The online loan industry in Nigeria is highly dysfunctional, read this investigative report before you take any online loan.
