A SURGE in online lending applications prompted the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), an attached agency of the Department of Information and Communications Technology, to find more ways to ensure the safety and security of consumers.
The CICC inked a memorandum of agreement with an online loaning app to partner with financial technology companies to increase public confidence in online lending platforms.
CICC aims to discourage the public from borrowing from unregistered collection agents.
âWhat we see in here, more so often, is the issue of collection. There are a lot of victims who are being harassed by unscrupulous online platforms who are not even registered. And these are the concerns that weâd like to address because kawawa naman âyong ating mga kababayan,â CICC Executive Director Undersecretary Alexander Ramos said.
He added: âWe would like to help them by leaving them to the registered platforms, that they shouldnât fall victim to just any application offering financial services. Though it will be small loans, for example, P20,000, they end up paying P100,000. Thatâs too much. Too predatory.â
Identity theft is also the most common scams being observed in the fintech industry.
âSomeone applying trying to get data for another person and trying to borrow in behalf of that person, without that personâs knowledge. So phishing is also included there,” a representative of the loaning app said.
“Weâre also seeing spikes of people calling and getting the OTPs of particular borrowers and using those OTPs in order to disperse, for example, the borrowed money into their account instead of the intended recipientâs account,â he added.
He said that addressing these issues would boost public confidence in using online lending apps.
The CICC encouraged borrowers to report platforms that charge more than 15 percent and be aware of hidden charges. (ABS-CBN News)
