Are you one of those thinking about how to stop loan apps from hacking your phone, or are you thinking about how to delete your data stored on loan apps? This article is for you. So relax and learn.
It is now a common situation to see hundreds of Nigerians being harassed daily by loan apps that had once gained their trust. These loan sharks that were once respectable financial institutions have now established themselves as digital militants, weaponizing the personal information you provided to them to harass and humiliate your persona. Loan apps and, in general, Loan Sharks go as far as using sophisticated blackmail and defamatory techniques to maim their targets.
Particularly within Nigeria, India, Korea, Philippines, Indonesia, Ghana, and so on, these loan apps usually operate under the guise of offering quick loans without any need for any collateral whatsoever. This deceitful measure is what the average Nigerian falls for, prompting them to secure loans from such sources. In most cases, they offer you the loan you want and add huge interest rates, which should be repaid in specified portions before a stipulated date.
As a safety measure, the loan recipient is usually required to grant unrestricted access to the phone, phone contacts, social media accounts, gallery, and most especially your BVN via the loan app or site. This gives them guaranteed access to relevant information about you that can be used to track your activities in case you decide to abscond with the loan money without repayment.
Starting from the first instance, you missed your repayment, loan apps usually plot their move, which involves threats of taking up legal action against you, your friends, and associates. Continued refusal to repay the loan will trigger these loan apps to invade your digital privacy. They might even spam defamatory messages to your contacts and family, spreading fake news of accidents or even death at times.
Others might resort to threatening your family members and friends within your phone contacts in ways that are extremely disturbing or violating.
Despite this rampage of digital oppression by loan sharks, as a person, it’s a fundamental human right to be free from any form of discrimination. No one should suffer reproach or shame just because they need financial assistance. To this end, this guide has been developed to improve digital security. In this guide, we will discuss how to block loan apps from accessing sensitive information from your phone data.
Whether you have previously been a victim of digital harassment or you simply wish to engage peacefully without fear of potential harassment, this article has been written to be highly practical, with every step critically analyzed to better protect your digital privacy.
Practical Steps on How to stop loan apps from hacking your phone
If you would prefer learning the steps on how to stop loan apps from hacking your phone through video, I advise you to watch this video with seriousness. Otherwise, you can learn how to stop loan apps from hacking your phone from the steps listed below.
1. Deleting the Loan app and its data
Any loan app that has violated your trust and invaded your privacy no longer needs to be on your device; hence, the first step should be removing it entirely from your device. Though this step might seem pretty easy, it must be done carefully because, in most cases, just deleting the app doesn’t cut it.
This is because some of these loan apps can still access your phone data and perform some background checks on your device even after removing them, particularly if the deletion is not properly handled. In this case, the best thing to do is to eliminate any form of access this app might have on your phone first before uninstalling.
How to delete your data stored on loan apps properly
- Scroll to your phone settings and open the tab “Apps”. Advance to “manage apps” and find the particular loan app in question. Click on the app, a menu will show, and you click on “permissions”. Here you’ll see the list of phone options that the loan app already has access to, namely: phone contacts, camera, SMS, phone location, storage, and the like. Turn off access to everything, ensuring the loan app can no longer access your data before uninstalling it.
- Still on the “manage apps” option in phone settings, you need to manually clear the app data and cache. To access this option, click “storage”, then you’ll need to click on “clear data” and “clear cache” to finalize the step and clear any redundant data the app might have gathered and stored on your phone.
- After you are done with the two steps above, you can now proceed to finally uninstall the loan app. As with any other application, long-press and hold the loan app icon for like 5 seconds to access the uninstall option quickly. Alternatively, you could toggle to the “manage apps” section to also uninstall the app.
By following these steps, you are not just deleting the application from your home screen, but also eliminating the access it has to your phone’s data. It is recommended to use a trusted antivirus software to scan for any redundant malware or residual breaches on your device.
2. Denial of access to BVN
As an individual, your BVN is your key to your financial life, and hence, it must be properly safeguarded. However, the reality of the situation these days is that loan apps often have the privilege of accessing people’s BVNs, exploiting the opportunity to misuse them to their advantage.
Though it is for very valid reasons of identity verification that loan apps must demand you supply your BVN before granting loans, some loan sharks go further to use them to track your bank account without prior consent. Some even use this information to threaten debtors, causing panic to victims of this ordeal.
The fact remains that loan apps are not, under any circumstances, permitted to have access to or control over your BVN. This is not oblivious to the fact that they can use it, though, to verify and cross-reference your identity via the Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).
However, this BVN use should end there, with no further access granted to them to leverage BVNs to manipulate your financial accounts or threaten you at all. It is important to mention that some loan apps even go as far as reporting fake debt amounts to financial bureaus with the aim of tarnishing your image and reputation.
To this end, it is of utmost importance to learn how to remove your BVN from these loan apps
How to prevent loan apps from getting access to your BVN.
In the situation that you have already provided and linked your BVN to a particular loan app, you cannot just delete it from their servers, but you can significantly minimise any potential for its abuse.
- 1. You’ll need to physically meet with all your banks to file a request to review any third-party affiliations with your BVN. This way, you would be able to monitor any malicious links to your BVN and immediately authorize their removal.
- 2. After revoking suspicious access to your BVN, it might be advisable to seek support from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), which can guarantee your financial identity protection. They should be able to offer proper legal guidance on securing your financial privacy
- 3. If a loan app threatens you with your financial information or you believe that your BVN or finances have been tampered with, you need to contact financial bureaus like the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), NIBSS, or FCCPC that oversee Banking data security. They will have the necessary jurisdiction to track the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
3. Reporting to the authorities
Like we mentioned before, once any loan app is causing any form of nuisance, you have the option of reporting it to the authorities. You can resort to financial organisations like the CBN, NIBSS, or even the FCCPC.
In particular, the FCCPC, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, is proactive in the fight against unethical loan apps. Any loan organisation that is being massively reported or flagged as being unethical is being investigated and shut down by the FCCPC if found guilty.
Though this disciplinary action is highly commendable, it can only be triggered when they are publicly aware of that problem. To this end, victims of loan app abuse must speak out and speak. Report any form of abuse as you experienced it. Back yourself up with solid evidence. You can gather screenshots of threatening messages, record calls of malicious threats, and encourage families and friends to take screenshots of harassing messages.
This evidence would be crucial in aiding your report, which would ultimately push justice not only for yourself but for others suffering the same fate.
You can file a complaint to the email addresses of these financial bureaus or even contact them via their online platforms.
In addition to this, you can also seek support via the Google Play Store. In the event that the loan app was downloaded from the platform, you can report first on the Google Play Store’s page for reasons of harassment, invasion of privacy, or even fraudulent activity. Multiple such reports will result in the app being permanently deleted and banned from the platform.
Conclusion
Loan sharks have been known over the years to induce compliance through brute harassment and psychological intimidation. They seemingly enjoy the destruction of a person’s dignity and reputation as opposed to their sole purpose of repayment.
From the constant phone calls, to families and friends harassment, to the fake rumours spread, these loan sharks have proven that it’s far more than the money owed. Their unethical antics have been based on establishing psychological fear, dominance, and control.
It can be very hard to handle loan apps within the country, but the options in this article would surely bear positive results. By deleting the app and its data, restricting your BVN access, and reporting to the authorities, it is guaranteed that you will be adequately protected in your digital and financial integrity.
Always remember, if a loan app has crossed the line, never keep quiet. Follow the necessary steps to prioritise your data security and in all your peace of mind.
Also, learn to use loans in a good way. Don’t take loans without a purpose. Watch this video for more.
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