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Warning Against Illegal Loan Apps and Data Theft

Warning Against Illegal Loan Apps and Data Theft

Thansettakij•Economy•1h ago

Reader Briefing

Cybersecurity expert Narinrit Permaphiwatnokul warns against illegal loan applications that steal personal data to blackmail and harass users.

  • •Illegal loan apps can steal gallery images, GPS locations, and contact lists to threaten victims and their acquaintances.
  • •App Store and Play Store presence does not guarantee a loan provider is legally licensed by the Bank of Thailand.
  • •Narinrit Permaphiwatnokul categorizes illegal loan apps into three types: scammers with no actual loans, high-interest lenders with violent collection, and imposters of real services.
  • •A 'Whitelist' system is proposed as a proactive alternative to 'Blacklists' for verifying legal loan providers.

Overview

  • •Narinrit Permaphiwatnokul warns that danger begins at the installation of illegal loan apps, especially those downloaded as APKs outside official stores.
  • •Illegal loan apps request extensive permissions to access galleries, GPS, and call logs to use as tools for blackmailing victims and their contacts.
  • •App Store and Play Store verify developer identity via DUNS Number or ID documents but do not verify legal loan licenses from the Bank of Thailand.
  • •Narinrit Permaphiwatnokul identifies three types of illegal apps: those that fake loans to steal money/data, high-interest violent lenders, and fake versions of real providers.
  • •Narinrit Permaphiwatnokul proposes replacing the reactive Blacklist system with a Whitelist database for public verification of legal providers.
  • •Narinrit Permaphiwatnokul suggests that addressing this issue should be a 'Joint Task' involving the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, Cyber Police, the Bank of Thailand, and the AOC 1441 center.
  • •Narinrit Permaphiwatnokul recommends shifting public education toward practical skill-building and simulations to help citizens detect abnormal signals and follow the 'Stop-Verify-Do Not Transfer' rule.

Full article content is available on the original source.

Read on Thansettakij (Thai Version)View in Google Translate

Source: Thansettakij (Original)

Key Quotes

Narinrit Permaphiwatnokul
"The developer name appearing on the Store page may be just a brand name created by the developer, which may not match the actual legal entity name used for DUNS Number registration."
ชื่อผู้พัฒนาที่ปรากฏอยู่หน้า Store อาจเป็นเพียงชื่อแบรนด์ที่ผู้พัฒนาตั้งขึ้น ซึ่งอาจไม่ตรงกับชื่อนิติบุคคลจริงที่ใช้จดทะเบียน DUNS Number

Key Entities

Person

Narinrit Permaphiwatnokul(นรินทร์ฤทธิ์ เปรมอภิวัฒโนกุล)
A cybersecurity expert who provided warnings and recommendations regarding illegal loan applications.

Organization

Thansettakij(ฐานเศรษฐกิจ)
The media outlet that conducted the special interview with Narinrit Permaphiwatnokul.
Bank of Thailand(ธนาคารแห่งประเทศไทย)ℹ️
The authority responsible for issuing legal loan licenses and providing a website to check legal loan apps.
Ministry of Digital Economy and Society(กระทรวงดิจิทัลเพื่อเศรษฐกิจและสังคม)ℹ️
A government agency identified as a necessary part of the joint task to combat illegal loan apps.
Cyber Police(ตำรวจไซเบอร์)
A law enforcement entity identified as a necessary part of the joint task to combat illegal loan apps.
AOC 1441 Center(ศูนย์ AOC 1441)
A center identified as a necessary part of the joint task to combat illegal loan apps.