The Loan Tree

Once a loan app has defamed you — by sharing your information, contacting your friends, or posting false claims — they have violated your privacy and broken the law. At that point, the agreement between you and them is already compromised.

You should report them to the FCCPC, CBN, and NDIC or any agencies in your country instead of paying. Paying them after such illegal behavior only encourages their abuse and gives them more power to exploit others.

You should not worry about loan apps threatening to post your picture on social media. If you check their accounts, you’ll notice most of them have fewer than 100 followers. This means they are mainly circulating your picture among themselves just to instill fear in you. Never pay a dime if any loan app posts your picture online; they are actually the ones owing you, not the other way around. Instead, report the account to the appropriate social media platform, and it will likely be closed down.

If you linked (bound) your ATM card during registration with a loan app, they can automatically debit your account. To prevent this, you should go to your bank, block the card, and request a new one.

For fully licensed Microfinance Banks that may use the Global Standing Instruction (GSI) or place a lien on your account, the safest option is to move your money to another bank account that has never been registered with loan apps. This will stop them from debiting your funds.

99% of loan apps cannot come to your house or office because most of them operate illegally and have no legal right to pursue you physically. Only fully licensed and approved Microfinance Banks with a registered office address and reputation as a legitimate financial institution can pay you a friendly visit, but never to arrest you.

Borrowing is a civil matter, not a criminal case. That means you cannot be arrested simply because you owe money. If any licensed microfinance bank tries to harass or threaten you, please contact us immediately—we will take the right steps to deal with them.

As for loan apps, they cannot legally come to your house or office to arrest you.

Yes and No, a loan app can defame you, but it usually depends on where you downloaded the app from and what permissions you gave it.

1. If you downloaded the app outside the Play Store or App Store (for example, from a direct link or third-party site), it’s very likely the app will misuse your information. Many of those apps are not properly regulated.
2. How they access your contacts:

• Loan apps need Contact permission to copy your phone contacts.
• They also sometimes request Call log permission, which allows them to see your dialed, received, and missed calls—but not your full contact list.

1. If you used the app before 2023:

• Before 2023, many loan apps could freely access contacts because the rules were not strict.
• From 2023 onward, Google Play Store and Apple App Store introduced policies that restrict apps from accessing contacts and call logs unless it’s absolutely necessary.

An app itself can’t magically “hack” your bank account, but a malicious loan app can steal your data or enable attacks that give criminals access — so treat them as potentially dangerous. Never download apps outside Play Store or App Store

Any loan app that charges above 7% per month and does not allow repayment to be spread across 3 to 6 months is a criminal organization. Stay away from them—they will ruin you financially

You only need to generate a disclaimer if the loan apps have access to your contacts or if they are not licensed. To know whether a loan app is likely to defame you, check the permissions it has on your device. If it has access to your contacts or call logs, and it is not a licensed or approved agency such as the Central Bank, then you need to send a disclaimer.

Yes — fight back. They prey on fear; pressure and exposure make predatory loan apps back down. Upload all their messages and evidence to our platform immediately — we are working to sue them. They’ll often flee once they’re documented and reported.

Phishing / social engineering: tricking you into giving OTPs, passwords, or BVN details.

Permission abuse: access to SMS, contacts, call logs, or accessibility services can let an app read OTPs or intercept communications.

Fake login pages/overlay attacks: an app may show a fraudulent screen that captures your bank credentials.

Malware/keyloggers: Some apps can record taps or keystrokes if they get high-level permissions.

Linking to compromised websites: clicking links can download malware or steal details.

Never share OTPs, BVN, or passwords with anyone.

Don’t grant Accessibility or SMS-read permissions to untrusted apps.

Install apps only from official stores and check reviews/permissions.

To stop their frequent calls, you can install Truecaller, upgrade to Premium, and use the Block Spam Calls feature. This will automatically filter out most unwanted numbers. (Check the video below for step-by-step details.)

For WhatsApp calls and messages, fight back smartly: never listen to their voice notes or read their messages. Instead, use the response strategy in the link below to reply safely. When you push back confidently, scammers usually give up and flee.

https://loansharkreview.com/MessageTemplate

Most of the emails you receive from loan apps are fake and meant to scare you. What you should do is verify the authenticity of the message — check if it is truly coming from a genuine government or legal agency. If the email is not from an official source, simply ignore it or reply that they are impersonating an authority and that their account has been reported to the appropriate body.

No loan app can sue you in court because most of them operate in clear violation of existing financial and data protection laws. And if any of them attempts such action, our legal team is fully prepared to represent you. In the past seven years, not a single loan app has successfully taken any borrower to court.

Loan apps do not have the authority or technical access to block your BVN. Only the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or your bank can restrict or blacklist a BVN, and that only happens in cases involving serious fraud or court orders.

Any loan app threatening to block your BVN is simply trying to intimidate you. It’s a scare tactic, not a legitimate action

In most cases, 90% of loan apps cannot report you to the Credit Bureau. This is because many of them are not licensed financial institutions or they charge exorbitant interest rates that violate government policies.

However, fully licensed and approved microfinance banks can report you to the Credit Bureau. Even when they do, they usually report only the actual amount you borrowed and the original agreed interest — not the inflated charges or penalties. If you notice incorrect information in your credit report, you have the right to contest it with the Credit Bureau and request correction.