Manila – The Philippine National Police – Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) offers tips on how to avoid being a victim of fake online loan applications after incidents of harassment at some lending companies. – klajoo.com – Eight Pasig City loan brokers were arrested last week after their office was raided by members of the PNP-ACG and the Security Exchange Commission (SEC).
The raid was carried out after a police officer reported that his wife had allegedly been harassed by loan company Realm Shifters BPO Services. During the operations, 57 employees were also found in the office.
Reported acts of harassment include texting customers with death threats and portraying them online as scammers.
After the raid, the PNP-ACG posted various prevention tips against illegal lending apps on Facebook.
In the post, PNP-ACG recommended individuals to determine if the lending platform is registered with the SEC before downloading.
If the platform is not registered, the PNP-ACG urges the public to ban it and report it to the authorities.
The PNP-ACG and the SEC have identified three lending platforms that Realm Shifters BPO Services operates, these are:
Police urged victims of these platforms to file complaints by sending a message to PNP-ACG’s social media accounts or by calling their hotline numbers.
In an interview with Frontline Pilipinas on May 16, Oliver Leonardo, the SEC’s director of enforcement and investor protection, pointed out that customer harassment is against the law.
“It was abusive treatment that involved threats, physical threats, even death threats,” Leonardo said.
He also explained that the nominal interest rate must not exceed 5 percent per month.
A report by GMA News found that Realm Shifters BPO Services employees charged high interest rates for their clients, most of whom were private individuals who did not have sufficient bank loan credentials.
Incidents of this approach by some banks have made headlines in recent years.
Last year, 83 loan officers were arrested after a raid was caught sending threats to customers who allegedly could not pay their debts on time.
The raids came after police received numerous complaints online that Filipinos had been allegedly humiliated and threatened by these workers.
In 2021, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) also ordered the following four lending apps to be shut down due to violations of privacy laws by their users:
- JuanHand
- Pespop
- CashJeep
- Lemon Loan
NPC said these apps and their operators violated privacy laws and also shamed their borrowers. – InterAksyon/KFR
2023-05-21 18:58:56
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