October 23, 2023 at 11:37PM
China-based scammers are using fake loan apps and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to scam victims out of money, according to a report by CloudSEK. The scammers pose as loan providers, luring victims with promises of easy repayments. Once a fee is paid, the loan never materializes and the fee is laundered through mules out of India to China. CloudSEK recommends implementing additional security measures to prevent these scams.
According to meeting notes from CloudSEK, scammers in China are using fake loan apps and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to scam victims out of money. The scammers pose as loan app providers and lure victims with promises of easy repayments and quick money in exchange for a fee. Victims are asked to share personal information such as bank details, phone numbers, national identity cards, and tax-related cards. Once the fee is paid, the loan never materializes, and the money is laundered through mules out of India to China. Chinese payment gateways ensure that authorities cannot pursue the scammers. CloudSEK suggests that UPI service providers should implement additional security measures to safeguard users from fraud, such as verifying that any new mobile number added to an account matches the account holder’s name.