In recent years, many Nigerians have complained about series of harassment, disturbing calls, threats, and privacy violations from so many loan apps.
Some of these loan apps have agents that engaged in unhealthy loan recovery practices like sending threatening messages, calls and even contacting their family and friends.
Because of these issues, the Nigerian government created a proper channel for people to report abusive lenders so that they can be legally sanction if found guilty.
So if a loan app is threatening you with calls and SMS, contacting your phone contacts, or violating your privacy, you can report it to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for penalisation.
On this page you will be guided on:
how to report a loan app to the FCCPC
Information needed when reporting a loan app, and what happens after you report a loan
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission which is simply known as FCCPC, is an agency that has been assigned by the federal government of Nigeria to protect consumers from unfair business practices.
In early 2022, FCCPC introduced new rules and guidelines to regulate the practices and activities of digital lenders in Nigeria due to series of complaints about many loan apps that were:
Posting borrowers on billboards and social media
Physically abusing and bullying borrowers
Harassing borrowers
Sending threatening messages and calls
Accessing borrowers’ phone contacts without permission
Publicly shaming borrowers
Publishing obituaries claiming borrowed were dead
To address this concerns, the FCCPC created a Limited Interim Regulatory Framework to guide the activities of digital lenders in Nigeria.
Since then, all legitimate loan apps in Nigeria were mandated to register and comply with the FCCPC’s regulatory rules before operating legally.
You can’t just report a loan app for no tangible or valid reason. You should only consider reporting a loan app to the FCCPC if it engages in any of the following actions:
Reason 1: Harassment or Threats
Some loan apps in Nigeria are fun of threatening borrowers using aggressive and deceptive tactics like:
Threatening to contact family, friends, or employers to shame borrowers into paying
Sending intimidating messages or emails
Claiming to involve law enforcement or debt collection agencies
Making false accusations of fraud or other crimes
Threatening to damage credit scores
Sending embarrassing or humiliating messages to borrowers’ contact
Some will even send messages like:
“We will report you to your contacts”
“Your photo will be shared online”
“You will be arrested”
“We will be arrested”
These intimidation tactics violate the FCCPC’s consumer protection laws.
Reason 2: Contacting Your Friends and Family
Certain loan apps illegally send messages defaming messages to your phone contacts to shame you over unpaid loans.
This is one of the most common major reasons many digital lenders in Nigeria have been investigated by regulators.
Reason 3: Privacy Violations
Loan apps that illegally access your:
phone contacts
photos
messages
Without proper consent can be reported for privacy violation
Reason 4: Fake Loan Apps
If you encounter a suspicious loan app that you either suspect to be:
malicious
illegal
scamming borrowers
charging hidden fees
involved in illegal loan practice like giving you loan you didn’t apply for and forcing you to repay
Reporting Malicious Loan Apps to Google Play Store
Apart from reporting to FCCPC, if you suspect that a loan app is malicious, pose security threat or still your phone data, you can also report the loan app toGoogle Play Store for removal.
To do this, follow these steps:
Open the Play Store page of the loan app
Scroll to the bottom
Click Flag as inappropriate
Choose the reason for reporting
Google may investigate the app and remove it if it violates Play Store policies, especially for security concerns.
Information You Should Include in Your Complaint
When reporting a loan app to FCCPC, there are important details that will help them to take quick action.
To make sure your complaint contains clear details, make sure to include the following helpful information:
loan app name
lending company name
developer name
website (if available)
phone number used for harassment
screenshots of evidences
loan amount involved
The more evidence you provide, the easier it is for them to investigate the issue.
What Happens After You Report a Loan App
After the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission must have received your complaint, they may take the following actions:
Investigation of the loan company
Warning notices issued to the lender
Suspension of the loan app
Removal from app stores
Legal action against the company
As at the time of writing this, many loan apps in Nigeria have already been removed or sanctioned following complaints from users.
How to Check If a Loan App Is Approved by FCCPC
Before borrowing money from any loan app, it is always advisable to verify whether the app is registered with the FCCPC.
You can do this by following these steps:
Visiting the FCCPC website
Checking the approved digital lenders list
Search for the loan app name
If the app is not on the list, know that it is either not registered or has been sanctioned and you should be cautious with such apps. Here we have compile list of loan apps approved by CBN and FCCPC in 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can FCCPC shut down a loan app?
Yes. The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has the legal authority to investigate and suspend any loan app that violate consumer protection rules.
Can I report a loan app even if I owe them money?
Yes. Owning a loan doesn’t mean the loan app should start using illegal means to threaten you.
So even if you have an outstanding loan, that can’t stop you from reporting any loan app that harasses or threaten you.
There are legal means that the CBN and FCCPC have put in place for legal loan recovery and all regulated loan apps are supposed to follow the legal procedures.
Can I report multiple loan apps at once?
Yes. If you are being harassed by several loan apps, you can include all of them in your complaint and provide evidences distinctly. But it’s advisable to file each complaint differently to avoid confusion.
Many Nigerians have faced series of harassment from loan apps when they miss their loan repayments.
Thankfully, there are legal protections available now to protect you from such experiences.
So if a loan app is threatening you, abusing your personal information, or contacting your family and friends, you should report it to FCCPC immediately.
Submitting a complaint will help them to investigate abusive loan apps and protect other borrowers from similar experiences.
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