China-based scammers are using a combination of fake loan apps and India’s real-time mobile payment system, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), to separate victims from their cash, according to a report by threat intel firm CloudSEK.
“UPI service providers currently operate without coverage under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA),” explained [PDF] CloudSEK researchers, letting the scammers’ exploit the platforms with relative ease.
Posing as providers of loan apps, and sometimes impersonating existing entities, the scammers lure victims with promises of easy repayments for quick money in exchange for a fee worth between 5 and 10 percent of the loan.
