How to spot a loan app scam in Nigeria: nine signs, and where to report it

Nigerians lost ₦25.85 billion to digital payment fraud in 2025. That was a 51% fall from the ₦52.26 billion lost in 2024, across 67,518 reported cases (Ajose, 2026; NIBSS, 2026). Very little of it was a hacker. Most of it was someone who asked, and was given.

Loan scams are the version of that aimed at people who need money. They work because the target is in a hurry, and because the real loan market in Nigeria is confusing enough that a fake one can hide inside it. This article sets out the patterns reporters and regulators have documented in 2025 and 2026, nine signs that tell a scam from a lender, what the law now requires, and exactly where to report one.

The patterns, 2025 to 2026

The fake bank page. In January 2026, fact-checkers found Facebook pages impersonating First Bank and offering loans, "all of them created between November 2025 and January 2026". The pages promised that "a bank verification number (BVN) is not required" and offered "low interest of 0.1% and you can pay back at your own convenient time". The bank's own position: it "asks interested users to apply for loans via its website or app, not on Facebook" (Balogun, 2026a).

The fee to get the money. The same fact-checkers' 2026 guide puts the rule in one line: "Requests for money in order to get more are an immediate red flag", and "legal lenders must appear on the FCCPC's list of approved or conditionally approved platforms" (Balogun, 2026b). The Central Bank's warning about fake loans and grants in its name is the same: it "does not demand payments or fees" and has appointed no agents (Tunji, 2025).

The loan that was real, and the collection that was not. "They started calling my phone contacts when I couldn't pay back on time, saying I owed them", one borrower told AFP; a legal aid group said it had "received at least 1,300 complaints over predatory digital loan apps" (AFP, 2025). The EFCC has had to say publicly that it "does not issue arrest warrants on loan defaulters" and that fake "arrest warrant processing" documents are circulated by loan companies (WithinNigeria, 2023).

Nine signs

1. 1They contacted you first. On Facebook, WhatsApp, SMS or a call. Real lenders have apps and websites. They do not recruit in your inbox.
2. 2A fee before the money. Processing, activation, insurance, "unlocking". Money asked for in order to get money is the whole scam.
3. 3No BVN, no questions, no checks. Identity verification is the law for every real lender. An offer that skips it is not a lender.
4. 4Interest that is too good. 0.1% and "pay back when convenient" is not a product that exists.
5. 5Payment to a personal account. A legitimate lender takes a deposit or repayment inside its app or at a till, never to an account number sent in a chat.
6. 6A name that is almost a real bank or app, with a page created last month. Check the age of the page and the bank's own site.
7. 7The app asks for your contacts, call logs or photos. Lenders are prohibited from accessing them under the FCCPC's 2025 regulations, with fines up to ₦100 million for companies (Nwokoma, 2025).
8. 8It is not on the register. The FCCPC publishes approved, conditionally approved, watchlisted and delisted lenders: 525 approved companies and 112 apps on the watchlist when we checked (FCCPC, 2026a; Akintaro, 2026). "Consumers are advised to exercise caution when dealing with digital lenders that do not appear on the Commission's current list" (Godfrey, 2026).
9. 9Threats. Arrest, your contacts, your photos, your employer. A real lender has a complaints process. A scammer has a threat.

What the law now says

The FCCPC's Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations 2025 took effect in July 2025 and, after a court challenge was dismissed, are "once again fully operational and enforceable" (FCCPC, 2026b). The Commission's own summary: "No consumer should be harassed, defamed, or lured into unsustainable debt under the guise of digital lending" (FCCPC, 2025). Google Play requires Nigerian loan apps to "obtain a verifiable approval letter from the FCCPC" (Google, 2026), and the data protection regulator says it receives about three complaints a day about digital lenders (Eleanya, 2025).

Where to report it

The FCCPC asks that you "have initially engaged the provider" before it takes a complaint, and that the complaint names the company, the amount and the redress you want (FCCPC, 2026d). Keep screenshots of every message. They are the whole case.

How Pody approaches it

• Everything happens inside the app. The deposit, the instalments, the limit. There is no agent, no WhatsApp approval and no fee to be approved.
• We verify you, not your contacts. A government ID, a short liveness check, your address and your student status. We never access your contacts, call logs or photos.
• Two-factor sign-in under Profile, then Security, so a one-time code is emailed to you at every sign-in. We will never ask you to read it back.
• If you fall behind, we notify you and work with you. We do not threaten, and we do not call your contacts. See how we protect your data.

A loan scam needs you to be in a hurry. The nine signs above take two minutes to check, and every one of them is a reason to stop.

For what a genuine plan looks like before you sign anything, read our eight checks before you sign up for buy now, pay later.

Sources

• AFP. (2025, September 4). Digital loan sharks prey on inflation-hit Nigerians. Personal Finance, IOL. Read the article
• Ajose, T. (2026, January 22). Nigeria's digital payment fraud drops in 2025, NIBSS. News Central. Read the article
• Akintaro, S. (2026, September 9). Instant loans dry up as FCCPC rules force lenders toward safer borrowers. Nairametrics. Read the article
• Balogun, M. (2026a, January 19). Beware of Facebook pages impersonating First Bank of Nigeria and offering bogus loans. Africa Check, via AllAfrica. Read the article
• Balogun, M. (2026b, February 20). Scam trends to watch out for in 2026 and how to stay safe online. Africa Check, via AllAfrica. Read the guide
• Eleanya, F. (2025, September 10). Three loan shark breaches a day: Inside Nigeria's busiest year of data enforcement. TechCabal. Read the article
• Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. (2024, February 5). Enforcement against digital lending violations. Read the notice
• Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. (2025, September 3). Digital lending: FCCPC tackles abuses, issues landmark regulations. Read the release
• Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. (2026a). Registration of digital money lenders. Checked 19 October 2026. See the register
• Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. (2026b, July 20). FCCPC resumes digital lending regulation. Read the notice
• Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. (2026c). Contact us. Checked 19 October 2026. Visit the page
• Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. (2026d). FAQs. Checked 19 October 2026. Visit the page
• Godfrey, P. (2026, January 22). FCCPC removes defaulting digital lenders from register. Vanguard, via AllAfrica. Read the article
• Google. (2026). Financial services: Personal loans. Google Play Developer Policy Center. Checked 19 October 2026. Read the policy
• Nigeria Data Protection Commission. (2026a). Contact. Checked 19 October 2026. Visit the page
• Nigeria Data Protection Commission. (2026b). Report a breach. Checked 19 October 2026. Visit the portal
• Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System. (2026, June 2). Digital payment fraud drops 51% to ₦25.85b in 2025. Read the release
• Nwokoma, C. (2025, August 20). What the FCCPC's digital lending regulations mean for lenders and borrowers. Techpoint Africa. Read the article
• Tunji, T. (2025, May 12). CBN warns Nigerians against fake contracts, grants, loans. Nairametrics. Read the article
• WithinNigeria. (2023, October 20). Don't use our name for recovery of money from defaulters, EFCC warns loan companies. Read the article