Illegal loan apps: DSI asks Google and Apple to pull them

Illegal loan apps are the target of a new request from Thailand's Department of Special Investigation (DSI), which has asked Google and Apple to remove any lending app from their Thai stores that is not run by one of the country's eight licensed digital loan providers. The DSI says the unlicensed apps grab borrowers' phone data and then use it to shame and harass them.

The move was reported on 14 November by The Thaiger. It is the latest step in a wider push by Thai authorities against predatory online lending.

What the DSI asked Google and Apple to do

The DSI sent the list of eight licensed digital personal loan providers to Google's representative in Thailand and to Apple South Asia (Thailand) Co., Ltd. It asked both companies to compare the loan apps on Google Play and the App Store with that list and take down any app run by a company that is not on it, so that more borrowers are not harmed.

Under Thai rules, any business offering digital personal loans needs a licence from the Bank of Thailand. The central bank publishes the names of licence holders, and the DSI says only eight private operators currently hold one and are doing business.

How illegal loan apps trap borrowers

According to the DSI, the apps follow a familiar pattern:

• Before lending any money, they make users grant access to data on their phones, including saved contacts and photos.
• Borrowers' personal details are later posted publicly to embarrass them.
• Debt collectors make harassing calls to the borrower and to other people whose numbers are stored on the phone.

This kind of pressure can reach friends, family members and employers who had nothing to do with the loan, which is why officials see the apps as both a financial and a privacy threat.

Earlier blocks and arrests

The request builds on efforts already under way. In May, Deputy Digital Economy and Society Minister Boonthida Somchai said the Bank of Thailand had sent the ministry 79 apps for court-ordered blocking between February 2025 and 20 May this year, and that the ministry had asked the court to suspend 57 of them.

Police are also running a nationwide crackdown on illegal lending ordered by the national police chief. On 21 October, cyber police arrested six men in Phitsanulok over an alleged illegal lending network said to handle more than 10 million baht a month.

The DSI said it will work with the Bank of Thailand on further measures, especially on digital platforms, and is considering urgent action under the Special Investigation Act of 2004.

Part of a wider fight against online fraud

Thai authorities are dealing with a wave of tech-driven scams. This week the finance minister warned that deepfake investment scams were using his face in fake adverts, and the central bank has been tightening its own systems, as covered in our report on Bank of Thailand cyber defences. The Bank of Thailand has also brought in new consumer rules, including rules on buy now, pay later and gold.

How to protect yourself

Residents of Phuket and the rest of Thailand, including foreigners living here, can lower the risk of falling into a debt trap by following a few simple steps:

• Check that a lender is licensed on the Bank of Thailand website before downloading any loan app.
• Be very wary of any app that asks for access to your contacts or photos before approving a loan.
• Never pay an upfront "deposit" or "fee" to receive a loan.
• If you have been tricked, report it to the government's 24-hour anti-online scam hotline on 1441, as the Digital Economy and Society Ministry advises.

What happens next

The Thaiger report did not include a response from Google or Apple. If the companies act on the list, illegal loan apps could become much harder to find in Thai app stores, but users will still need to check a lender's licence themselves, because the Bank of Thailand list remains the simplest test of whether an app is legal.

Image: an Android smartphone home screen, illustrating the story on illegal loan apps in Thai app stores. Photo by Gannu03 via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.