Bank loans can be a pain in the ass for a lot of Nigerians.
That’s why loan apps in Nigeria have become popular, they are a faster and hassle-free way to get a loan in Nigeria. However there are bad apples among these loan apps, that’s why we made this list of fake loan apps in Nigeria you should avoid if you want your reputation and finances in good health.
As a customer or borrower, you do not have to be scammed, threatened or defamed anymore. Simply avoid any of the fake loan apps in Nigeria mentioned in this article like a plague and you would be safe in all your transactions. You can patronize any of our recommended Top 20 Reputable Loan Apps In Nigeria for instant cash if you need to borrow a quick cash loan.
The Nigerian Regulatory authorities have now concluded a plan to prosecute FastMoney and many other fake loan apps in Nigeria such as NowCash, Sokoloan, 9credit, LendCash, and many others that are breaching the data privacy of their customers by sending threatening and blackmailing messages to them and their contact lists.
Are you in urgent need of a loan in Nigeria? Be careful when choosing a loan app, as there are several fake loan apps that promise quick and easy loans with no collateral required, but can leave you with significant financial losses. To help you avoid these fraudulent loan apps, we have compiled a list of the top 20 fake loan apps in Nigeria that you should avoid at all costs.
By being aware of these fake loan apps and their red flags, you can protect yourself from financial scams and make informed decisions when accessing loans through loan apps.
This resource guide will provide a list of fake loan apps in Nigeria and how to identify these fraudulent loan apps, and explore the risks of using such apps.
It is essential to be vigilant and informed to make informed financial decisions and avoid falling prey to fraudulent loan apps.
List of Fake Loan Apps in Nigeria
There are numerous fake loan apps in Nigeria, and it can be challenging to identify them.
However, after careful review, we are able to bring a list of the top 20 fake loan apps to avoid.
- Sokoloan
- LCredit
- Okash
- Palmcash
- FastMoney
- GotoCash
- NCash
- Cash Mall
- CashLion
- LendCash
- BorrowNow
- NairaPlus
- 9ja Cash
- Easy Moni
- Ease Cash
- ForNaira
- GotCashger
- Speedy Choice
- KashKash
- 9Credit App
It is important to note that this list is not exhaustive, and there are many other fake loan apps in Nigeria.
We advise borrowers and customers to avoid them at all costs. Many have been scammed and defrauded, and their bank accounts illegally debited by these fraudulent digital lending apps. Please be warned!
1. Cash Mall
Cash Mall has slowly become one of the most popular fake loan apps in Nigeria. Some of the claims of Cash mall include:
A Loan app with an intelligent and convenient online loan process
Consumers can get instant loans
That its lending platform is secure and safe and protects borrowers’ data and doesn’t disclose customers’ information.
It offers loan amounts ranging from N2,000 to N100,000.
These aforementioned claims by Cash Mall aren’t true.
This fake loan app has a terrible track of exposing users’ information on social media as a way for them to collect from debtors who haven’t paid. When you don’t pay, they resort to sending character assassination messages to people on your contact list.
Cash mall doesn’t offer nearly the amount of loan amounts it claims to give. Same as the loan tenure. It said that its loans can be prepared in 91 days ~ 365 but Cash Mall’s loan tenure is 7 days.
As you’d have guessed Cash mall’s interest rates and maximum Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is extremely higher than advertised. This fake loan app also charges an origination fee of 1% to 9% which is illegal in almost every country.
2. Cash Lion
Cash Lion is one of the top fake loan apps in Nigeria with a lot of wild claims it cannot match.
Some of Cash Lion’s claims include:
Offering instant online loans to consumers straight into their bank account
Loan Amounts range
from N2000 to N50,000 with no hidden charges and an interest rate of 16% – 21% and a loan term of 91 to 365 days.
No Service Fee
As you’d have guessed, these claims contain no truth. It doesn’t do any of the things it claims. cash lion loan tenure is 7 days and it also has hidden charges.
3. Fast Money
The third on our list of fake loan apps in Nigeria is Fast Money. Nigerians that used this fake loan app were hit with shady charges, and when they didn’t pay, Fast Money sent unsavoury messages to people on their contact list.
Fast Money has now been banned by both Google and the Nigerian government.
It’s best to avoid this fake loan app if you don’t want the regrets later as you are bound to encounter issues with Fake Money 😊 , sorry, Fast Money.
You can expect threats, and exorbitant interest rates with inconsiderate loan durations when you use Fast money. You can be sure that they will go to any lengths to recover their money from you.
4. Lend Cash
LendCash is another fake digital lender you should avoid in Nigeria. LendCash is the 4th on this list of fake loan apps in Nigeria.
Banned by both Google and the Regulatory authority of the Nigerian Government for violating lending rules several times.
Lend Cash has been regrettably used by a lot of Nigerian borrowers who have been scammed via high-interest rates, while some have had their reputation destroyed. Best you stay away from Lendcash there are legit places to get an instant online loan in Nigeria.
5. Borrow Now
Another of the top fake loan apps in Nigeria everyone should avoid. Borrow Now is known for its high interests and very short loan durations that they offer borrowers in Nigeria
This fake loa app has flouted google policies as well as Nigerian lending laws and as a result, Borrow Now has been red-flagged and banned by both entities.
BorrowNow is popular for sending threatening and defamatory messages to its users like most unethical lenders on this list.
Here’s a victim of Borrow Now telling their story:
6. LCredit
LCredit used to be legit then it turned into a bad apple. So it has made its way into this list of fake loan apps in Nigeria.
LCredit was initially banned on the Google Play Store for violating its rules by involving in malicious and fraudulent activities. However, this loan app found its way back to Play Store.
Google found out that the LCredit loan app was spying on android users’ phone contacts, recordings, photos and other private content.
Play Protect by Google warned users in a statement saying:
“This app (LCredit App) tries to spy on your personal data such as sms messages, photos, audio recording or call history.”
While letting users know they had to uninstall LCredit from their phone for their best interests.
7. Naira Plus
NairaPlus is number 7 on this list of fake loan apps in Nigeria.
Like its compatriots, it has spied on users and broken a lot of data privacy laws. It has blackmailed and sent reputation-destroying messages to contacts of users its deems as debtors who have refused to pay.
It’s best to avoid Naira Plus for the sake of your sanity when you can get legit online quick loans in Nigeria.
Here’s a user of Naira Plus telling their history with NairaPlus:
9. 9ja Cash
Like other fake loan apps in Nigeria, 9ja Cash offers unfavourable interest rates and loan durations to borrowers.
The Modus operandi of 9ja Cash is to start by initially offering you small loans that they claim help you build up a good credit score and which means larger loans and longer loan durations, but even after using them up to 7 to 10 times, you find out that they do not full their end of the bargain and you have left with still small loan amounts and even higher interest rates sometimes.
There are claims that 9ja Cash is an offshoot of Sokoloan, which is the OG of fake loan apps in Nigeria.
When you don’t pay back your 9ja Cash loan, they will send all sorts of threats to you and defamatory messages to your contact list.
Here is a picture of one of 9ja Cash performing one of their unlawful acts:
9. Cash Wallet
The number 9 on this list of fake loan apps in Nigeria is Cash Wallet. This lender claims it offers loans of ₦ 3,000 – ₦ 100,000 for 92 days to 365 days with interest rates of about 16% and an APR (Annual Percentage Rate) of about 35%. All a lie.
This fake digital lender scams unsuspecting borrowers of their money by offering them short-term loans and then having these borrowers add their debit card details to the app. After which it deducts a “down payment” of N3,000 to N10,000 depending on the loan amount you’re requesting for.
And yet Cash Wallet mostly doesn’t give the loan after deducting their so-called service charge. And even when it does, their loan duration does not exceed 7 days.
10. GGMoney
You should always try to avoid loan sharks and fake loan apps in Nigeria for your own good, especially ones like GGMoney.
GGMoney’s lending activities are unethical as it is guilty of invading users’ data privacy rights. This fake loan app will go to any length to recover their money and can go as far as sending messages to your family and friends claiming you’re a fraud and a thief who has refused to pay their debt.
As you can tell already, GGMoney loans come with insanely high-interest rates and unfavourable loan terms
GGMoney has been reported on several occasions for numerous unethical practices from the company and its untrained staffs coupled with its high and astronomical interest rate.
For your own sanity, it is best you avoid the GMoney loan app.
11. 9Credit
Another one of the top fake loan apps in Nigeria everyone should avoid is 9Credit. Like the rest we’ve mentioned on this list, they’re very unethical.
9Credit charges borrowers pretty high interest on their loans as well as giving loan terms of just 7 days rather than the minimum of 60 days as the lending laws demand.
9Credit also threatens customers that it feels are owing and are not paying. They go as far as sending defaming and threatening messages to their contact list.
It’s best to avoid the 9Credit loan app if you don’t want your reputation in the gutter if you can’t pay back their loan.
12. Sokoloan
Sokoloan is one of the top fake loan apps in Nigeria, in the sense that they started the harassment of borrowers in Nigeria. This loan company also created other loan app spinoffs as well.
Like the rest fake loan apps on this list, Sokoloan loans come with very inflated interest rates.
This loan app also gives loans for only 7 days till their repayment time which goes against its lending rules in Nigeria and on the Google Play store.
recently Sokoloan was one of the loan apps that was blacklisted by the Nigerian government. Sokoloan has been able to stay on the Google Play Store by paying people to give them a 5-star rating.
This loan app claims it offers up to N300,000 to borrowers but that’s a lie. And once you don’t pay back the loan, Sokoloan and its agents start to harass and hound you for their money.
It’s best you avoid Sokoloa and any of its affiliates.
13. Palmcash
Like other similar fake loan apps in Nigeria, Palmcash scams borrowers via high-interest loan interest rates.
Palmcash lending activities contravene Nigerian money lending laws, its loan durations are really low. You also have to consider that Palmcash has no physical address and no customer service agents to attend to users’ issues.
In essence, Palmcash is a faceless loan app that everyone should avoid.
14. Ease Cash
Number 14 on this list of fake loan apps in Nigeria is Ease Cash. Formerly named EasyMoni, this loan company was known for taking advantage of borrowers and even got banned by Google.
So to escape these sanctions, EasyMoni changed to Ease Cash, to continue its dubious lending business undeterred.
Like other fake loan apps, Ease Cash loans come with questionable interest rates, and when borrowers can’t pay, they threaten and shame them. Let’s not even go into their violation of customer data privacy.
There are rumours that EasyMoni cum Ease Cash is owned by loan sharks from Asia and has no point of contact, whether by telephone or mail or office in Nigeria.
Best to avoid Ease Cash as they are very notorious when it comes to lending money.
15. ForNaira
Another one of the fake loan apps in Nigeria to stay away from is ForNaira. ForNaira launched on the Google Play Store and got banned for flouting Google rules.
This loan app claims it offers loan amounts of ₦300,000 for up to 91 to 360 days without the need for any collateral. But this is false, as ForNaira doesn’t give loans of up to even an N100,000 and their loan terms also last for 7 days. They also have hidden charges in their loan process as well.
If you don’t repay the loan, ForNaira will start to harass and threaten you and even go as far as send defamatory messages to your contact list.
You should do all you can to avoid ForNaira whenever you want to get a mobile loan in Nigeria
16. GotCash
The number 16 on this list of fake loan apps in Nigeria. GotCash like other fake loan apps is in the business of defaming Nigerian borrowers once they don’t pay back their exorbitant loan repayments.
GotCash interest rates are insanely high with unattainable loan durations. They also violate the data privacy of the users that download their app.
GotCash like most of the fake loan apps on this list have Chinese owners, and so they’re faceless and have no point of contact.
It’s best to avoid GotCash when looking for a Nigerian loan app to use.
17. NCash
NCash is another one of the fake loan apps in Nigeria you want to avoid. It does the same thing other fake loan apps do. Excessive interest rates, inconsiderate loan durations, and when borrowers don’t repay them, they send denigrating messages to their contacts.
Like other fake loan apps we’ve mentioned, NCashis a lending service created for the singular purpose of defrauding Nigerians of their hard-earned money. While NCash is currently hosted on Google Play (despite its fraudulent activities) leaves a lot of unanswered question marks.
So it’s best to stay away from NCash if you don’t want to pay upfront fees and deposit fees before loan approval, extremely high-interest rates and make repayments within 7 days despite not having such an agreement.
18. GotoCash
The number 18 on our list of fake loan apps in Nigeria is GotoCash. This loan app doesn’t only violate customers’ data privacy laws or offer bad loan terms to users, it also sends defaming messages to borrowers’ contact lists when they don’t repay their loans on time which we’ve stated countless times is a very unethical thing to do.
It’s best to avoid GotoCash and its type as their lending service continues to break lending laws and put Nigerian borrowers through terrible situations.
19. GoCash
GoCash is another one of the fake loan apps in Nigeria to stay away from if you want to keep your sanity. Like the other fake loan apps on this list, it has a knack for sending blackmailing messages o borrowers who haven’t repaid, all the while deducting unspecified fees from their ATM cards.
GoCash violates both Nigerian lending laws as well as Goggles policies for lending apps. This fake loan app loan tenure is 7 days which shouldn’t be so, it should be at least 90 -120days. Coupled with the insanely high-interest rates. It’s best to avoid GoCash.
20. KashKash
The final one on this list of fake loan apps in Nigeria is KashKash.
This online lending service claims it offers loan amounts of ₦3,000 ~ ₦200,000, loan terms of a minimum of 91 days, and a maximum of 365 days, with an interest rate of 0.1% to 1%. An origination fee ranges between N1,174 to N 6,000. As well as an APR of 36.5% to 300%.
Kashkash also claims that its interest rate is calculated on a daily basis with no hidden charges.
But based on customer reviews of Kashkash, it doesn’t keep to its words and its claims are false.
Kashkash loan amounts do not get up to N200,000 and its loan durations are usually for 7 days at a (you guessed?) really high-interest rate.
And like clockwork, when borrowers default on a Kashkash loan, the fake lending service sends public shaming messages.
So like many of these fake loan apps in Nigeria, you better stay away from Kashkash.
Why do Fake Loan Apps In Nigeria Thrive and What’s the solution to them?
Fake loan apps in Nigeria are becoming rampant in the country because the credit systems available currently can not meet the credit needs of the population. Traditional financial institutions aren’t offering as many loans as they should, and they already have a bad rep of having a tedious loan approval process, so borrowers tend to turn to other sources.
While lending fintechs in Nigeria have filled some of the lending gaps, the country still needs the big boys (banks) to loosen up and really boost the credit system in Nigeria.
The massive lending gaps that exist have allowed fake loan apps to come in and take advantage of borrowers who find the value of their money falling every day, making it difficult to repay loans they took when the value of their money was stronger.
These fake loan apps act more like loan sharks (a punishable offence) and less like credible loan services. They offer terrible terms to borrowers and go ahead to threaten them when they can’t repay because of the terms.
While you might say borrowers accepted the terms knowing they were shit, you also have to consider that some of them did this partly by not having all the information and by being told lies about repayment duration.
Credible loan apps need to be transparent about their loan terms and how they will handle user data.
The solution to eradicating these fake loan apps is having a very seamless credit system. Where a borrower can easily get a legit loan from either a bank or a digital lender. Also, there needs to be more education about lending money for Nigerian consumers and that’s why banktransfer.com.ng has tried to do with this article.
There are credible loan solutions for personal or business loans in Nigeria. You don’t need to use a fake loan app or loan shark to access a loan.
However, note that these are my entire opinion, you can carry out your personal research to ensure that they are legitimate to avoid falling prey to fraudulent activities.
Better still, you can check out this list of our top 10 best loan apps in Nigeria, to get your loan at ease
How To Identify Fake Loan Apps in Nigeria
Please look out for these signs in your review of any loan app to be able to fetch out the bad from the good ones
Below are peculiar characteristics of a typical fake loan App
- No physical address or contact information:
Legitimate loan apps have a physical address and contact information that borrowers can use to reach them. If a loan app does not have these, it is a red flag for fraudulent activity.
- High-interest rates and hidden fees:
Fake loan apps often advertise low-interest rates to attract borrowers, but they usually charge exorbitant interest rates and hidden fees, which can lead to significant financial losses.
- Request for upfront fees:
If a loan app requests an upfront fee, it is most likely fraudulent. Legitimate loan apps do not require borrowers to pay any fees upfront, even if required, the terms will be stated clearly.
- No clear repayment terms:
Legitimate loan apps have clear repayment terms that borrowers can understand. If a loan app has vague repayment terms, it is a sign of fraudulent activity.
- Poorly designed website and inactive social media pages:
Legitimate loan apps have well-designed websites and active social media pages. If a loan app has an outdated website or inactive social media pages, it is a red flag for fraudulent activity.
- Limited customer reviews and ratings:
Fake loan apps often have limited or no customer reviews and ratings online. Positive reviews and high ratings indicate that the loan app is legitimate.
- No accreditation and licenses:
Legitimate loan apps are accredited and licensed by relevant authorities. If a loan app does not have these, it is most likely fraudulent.
- Unresponsive customer service:
Fake loan apps often become unresponsive after receiving payments from borrowers. This can leave borrowers stranded and unable to resolve any issues they may encounter.
- Misleading loan terms and conditions:
Fake loan apps often misrepresent their loan terms and conditions to attract borrowers. Read the terms and conditions carefully before accepting any loan offers.
What To Do To Verify The Legitimacy of a Loan App
- Check for reviews and ratings: Look for reviews and ratings of the loan app online to see what other borrowers have experienced. Positive reviews and high ratings indicate that the loan app is legitimate.
- Visit the company’s website and social media pages: Legitimate loan apps have well-designed websites and active social media pages. If a loan app has an outdated website or inactive social media pages, it is a red flag for fraudulent activity.
- Check for accreditation and licenses: Legitimate loan apps are accredited and licensed by relevant authorities. If a loan app does not have these, it is most likely fraudulent.
By being vigilant and doing thorough research before using loan apps, anyone can easily avoid falling prey to fraudulent activities and protect their financial interests.
Risks of Using Fake Loan Apps in Nigeria
It is crucial to be aware of these risks and avoid using fake loan apps to protect oneself from financial losses and negative consequences. It is advisable to research loan apps thoroughly and use only legitimate ones to access loans.
Some of the risks associated with using fake loan apps include:
- Identity theft:
Fake loan apps often request sensitive personal information such as bank details, BVN, and PINs. This information can be used for fraudulent activities such as identity theft, which can lead to significant financial losses.
- Unauthorized deductions:
Fraudulent loan apps have been reported to deduct unauthorized amounts from borrowers’ bank accounts, leading to financial losses and negative balances.
- High-interest rates and hidden fees:
Illegitimate loan apps often advertise low-interest rates to attract borrowers, but they usually charge exorbitant interest rates and hidden fees, which can lead to significant financial losses and debt.
- Unresponsive customer service:
Fake loan apps often become unresponsive after receiving payments from borrowers. This can leave borrowers stranded and unable to resolve any issues they may encounter.
- Negative impact on credit score:
Late or missed payments on loans from fake loan apps can negatively impact a borrower’s credit score, making it difficult to access credit in the future.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that avoiding any of the listed fake loan apps above is the first step to being safe.
Fake loan apps today are a growing problem in Nigeria, and it is essential to be aware of the risks they pose.
Many fake loan apps promise quick and easy loans with no collateral required, but they often charge high-interest rates and hidden fees, leading to significant financial losses.
Additionally, they request sensitive personal information that can be used for fraudulent activities such as identity theft.
To protect oneself from falling prey to fake loan apps, it is crucial to research loan apps thoroughly before using them.
It is crucial to prioritize one’s financial well-being and take necessary precautions when accessing loans through loan apps.
