Mexican scam loan apps would edit faces onto X-rated photos, sending them to families
App stores and regulators are playing liability hot potato as victims of fraud and harassment increase

Reports suggest how a girl from a working class Mexican family, Maria sought a loan from the loan app SolPeso. Turns out, for the approval of the loan, the application demanded her personal and monetary information, along data from her device such as contacts.

The app ended by giving the Mexican an amount way lesser than what she had requested. However, it asked her for the entire sum back, along with an interest within a span of days. As she was unable to pay within the speculated period, the lender apparently threatened her via calls and messages. As she took the help of other such apps like LoanLala, Super Peso, etc., they partnered with SolPeso in harassing her.

According to Maria, she received threats such as them handing out her photoshopped pictures as a thief, with them threatening to rape and harming her family. As the lenders went on threatening Maria, another app, iFectivo sent her family members a photoshopped image of hers, portraying her as a prostitute.

As specified by an official financial fraud report from the government, Maria joins the range of customers who are victims of doxxing by such apps. News outlets came across about 94 of such apps reportedly connected to such fraudulent activities across many cyberpolice departments of Mexico.

Mexicans falling victim to such doxxing activities:

Victims of such cases stated how authorities, digital rights’ activists, along with flaws in the law have enabled such harassers to go on committing frauds, where victims are left with no choice. Evidently, the only way to control such cases is by means of consumer education, and investigating of the cases following such crimes.

The neglect of such responsibility to the victims is evidently surprising owing to the rest of the world taking necessary steps to combat it. In the last year, Google went on to get rid of such scam applications, coming up with necessary policies following the Reserve Bank of India reporting 600 applications to it.

As such applications are not under much regulation, they end up forcing repayment by means of threats and harassment which are clearly illegal. Mexico sees such cases of e-commerce scam as one of its most prevalent cybercrimes whose reports the national cyberpolice receives. The records of this agency clearly indicate the evident evil of doxxing existing in Mexico. Despite this, and the existence of cybersecurity departments in the country’s security agencies, such crimes are visibly rising in an uncontrollable rate.