Cajeme, Sonora.- Threats, bullying, extortion y data theft personal is what those who trust in express loans live through a app. Enough with download an app to be able to access a loan, which starts at 500 pesos, without knowing the ‘hell‘ what awaits you.
And it is that those who download applications like Crediflash, credit, Cash Cash, FusMoneyto mention a few, give access to their social networks, contacts, Photos y videos of your cell phone when needed economic. That is when the problem begins, those who manage the apps intimidate and threaten the person who applied for the loan if for some reason it is late or worse, they demand advance payments with high interest that is impossible to pay.
A special report by meter call, the people behind the apps, ‘Montadeudas‘ and points to them as a new form of organized crime that specializes in extortion, fraud and robbery. The data compiled by the media indicates that at the national level more than 180 victims of the so-called ‘drop by drop’ loans are registered each month.
These criminals work with a technique called ‘Doxing‘ which, according to experts in cyber securityconsists of revealing information about a person such as: their real name, home address, place of work, telephone number, financial data and other personal information.
In many cases, those who request the loan do receive the money and are forced to pay extremely high interest rates. If they refuse to do so, they are threatened that their data will be exposed. On other occasions, the friends and relatives of the victim are also harassed, since the criminals have the information in their possession.
It should be noted that all the messages they receive are risqué, in some they are threatened with death or even with the dismemberment of their entire family. Experts warn that the ‘Doxing’ carried out by these criminals is more aggressive and viral, due to the fact that they take advantage of the need of those who are looking for a loan, generally low-income people.
Basically it works in the following way: first they offer the loans in the applications without the need to check the credit bureau, once accepted they begin to threaten and change the rules, now the debt is bigger, and then they continue the extortion with private information of the victim.
Several testimonies show that the harassment by these criminals can last for months. They also point out that although the charges claim to be weekly, the criminals send you messages on the third day and give 20-minute deadlines demanding the debt, on average the so-called ‘Montadeudas’ can send up to 300 messages harassing or extorting the victim. On the other hand, many people tend to have their identity stolen and thus make purchases in their name.
Blanca Alicia Rosas López, head of the Condusef User Service Unit in Sonora, explained to the TRIBUNA that this type of loan, being word loans, neither Condusef nor Profeco have the power to deal with disputes that arise, since that there is no contract.
“These are credits that are offered in mobile applications, especially through WhatsApp, and what happens is that when this loan is accepted in two hours they deposit the resource, but there are payments with high interest and a very close date, usually installments weekly and when there is a delay, they begin to receive, not only the debtor but all the registered contacts, intimidating messages”, he detailed.
Rosas López added that with this they force the debtor to pay not only what he owes but more than what was verbally agreed, affecting not only his economy, but also his social situation, derived from the aggressive messages by the lender.
- Sonora, part of the problem
José Manuel Acosta, a member of the Sonora Cibersegura organization, mentioned in an interview with TRIBUNA that so far this year 87 cases of extortion related to so-called ‘drop by drop loans’ have been reported.
He explained that of this total of cases at the state level, 34 reports have been made in the municipality of Cajeme, while in 2021, 68 cases were registered in this municipality, out of a total of 124 that occurred in 2021.
“These are applications that cybercriminals invest in to give them a lot of publicity. Initially, the person is offered a loan without including the credit bureau and with the supposed facility that they will pay very little in installments. However, what they do is take personal data through the application to later threaten people and force them to pay more than they owe,” Acosta said.
He added that so far the cases that have been presented have involved threats of physical violence, as well as psychological. “The best way to prevent these cases is by not paying attention to these announcements, much less when they do not involve any bank, nor do they include a credit bureau,” he said.