Loan sharks in Nigeria: How to identify and avoid

If you have ever been a victim of loan sharks in Nigeria, you will understand how miserable these unprofessional lenders make people feel for borrowing insignificant amounts sometimes.

Loan sharks are online or offline lenders(a digital platform or a loan app) that provide loans to people with very high-interest rates and use unprofessional and illegal means to get defaulters to pay back.

They offer quick and instant cash loan credits to people with no collateral in Nigeria, which seems like a good bet for an average Nigerian because of the economic downturn.

Since most people’s personal finance is not going so well, despite the rigorous daily hustle, they think getting a loan from these disguising devils is their Godsent help. So, a majority of people don’t even bother to make their findings about these loan sharks before accepting the loan offer. And at the end, they become a Shark’s prey. 

If you are yet to get a loan from those illegal apps, you are lucky, as you’ll be finding out the top 10 loan sharks in Nigeria in this article. Not only that – you’ll also find out how to identify and avoid them.  

Loan sharks in Nigeria

There has been a rapid rise in loan apps that offer collateral-free loans to their people in recent years. While this ought to be an excellent and incredible idea because of the hindrance and limitation most people have in accessing loans from commercial banks, it’s not so in reality because of the after-effect of borrowing the funds.

These loan sharks disguise themselves by offering loan credit to people to be able to settle or cater for emergencies and swindle poor Nigerians of their hard-earned cash.

A lot of borrowers online have shared the horrors of borrowing loans on these platforms. You’ll feel sorry for them reading most of the experiences. 

Some people find it difficult to meet up with the payment deadline due to their excessive interest rates. And when there is a default in payment, the company staff will send defamatory and derogatory messages and threats to them and their contact list.

These loan sharks operate outside the boundaries of the law; hence their operations can be termed illegal.

10 Popular Loan sharks in Nigeria

Here is a list of 10 commonly known loan sharks in Nigeria. Note that there are more than these still functioning at the time of writing this list. Watch out and avoid borrowing from any one of them.

1. 9credit
2. LCredit
3. Nkash
4. iCredit
5. Okash
6. EasyCredit
7. Sokoloan
8. KashKash
9. GoCash
10. Ease Cash.

How to identify and avoid Loan sharks in Nigeria.

Are you confused about how to recognize these loan sharks amidst the legal moneylenders? Here are a few things to watch out for

• Most of them lack communication ethics; they just speak in an unethical and rude manner to their customers.
• Access to your contact list and pictures on your mobile phone
• They invade customers’ data privacy and send them threats through messages and calls.
• Exceptionally high-interest rates with minimal time to pay back.
• Most of these platforms deduct their interest before providing the loan.
• They harass their customers who fail to pay them back.
• They use unethical means to recover their funds.

A major way to avoid these loan sharks is to go to Google Play Store or Apple App Store and check the reviews of people who have used the loan app previously. People who have had a terrible experience with them would have shared their experience with them. 

Why you should avoid taking loans from Loan sharks

These are reasons you should not consider taking loans from these loan apps.

1. High-Interest rates

These platforms charge incredibly high-interest rates on their loans. Commercial banks in Nigeria charge an interest rate of 9% to 11.13% per annum. However, these loan apps charge close to 20% to 35% weekly or monthly, depending on the plan you apply for.

They also make their customers pay extra charges as each day passes as a fine when you default in paying back.

2. Access to your BVN

Many people don’t even feel bothered to release their BVN details because they are desperate just to borrow the funds they need; they get carried away with the hype of a “collateral-free loan.”

Financial institutions have always emphasized that you should not share your BVN details with unauthorized sources as they can be used for illegal and fraudulent activities.

Because of your default in payment, these loan sharks can give your BVN details to the credit bureau to get it blocklisted, which can significantly harm you in accessing loans for huge business transactions later.

3. Harassment faced by customers

In the bid to recover their debts from their customers, loan sharks employ various means that are unethical and illegal, such as humiliation, harassment, and intimidation, regardless of the reason for the default.

A first-hand victim shared her experience with me. She borrowed from one of these platforms but unfortunately got so sick and admitted to the hospital that she could not make the payment at the time given. 

She was humiliated despite her legitimate reason, and each day, more charges were added to her loan because she was yet to pay.

They send defamatory messages to her contacts and ruined her integrity with many people. This same issue has brought shame to many borrowers and has pushed some to suicide because of the much pressure.

4. Addiction

They offer their customers credit loans with high-interest rates with limited time to pay, and most customers have to depend on other loan platforms to pay back.

Because of that, there is a high tendency to get addicted to borrowing from various platforms, which can devastate a person’s finances and personal life.

Conclusion

The government and financial institutions have strongly advised against getting loans from these unauthorized loan apps.

I understand you might have legitimate reasons for getting the loan. However, it is advisable to get the loans maybe from a friend or a close relative instead of giving out personal and sensitive details to the Loan sharks who offer loans that can get you into more distress than you are before getting the loan.