How to Report Loan App Harassment in Nigeria (Step-by-Step Guide)

Loan App Harassment in Nigeria: How to Report It (2026)

Contact details checked against official FCCPC, NDPC and CBN websites: October 2026

Being chased by a loan app can be frightening. You may get dozens of calls a day and threatening messages. Worse, your family, friends and colleagues may receive messages calling you a thief or a fraudster. This is loan app harassment, and in Nigeria you can report it.

What counts as loan app harassment?

These are common abusive practices that you can report:

• Contacting people in your phone book about your loan, such as family, friends, colleagues or your boss.
• Debt-shaming messages, for example broadcasts calling you a “thief”, “fraudster” or “chronic debtor”, or edited photos of you.
• Threats of arrest, violence or public exposure, or threats against your family.
• Abusive, insulting or obscene language in calls, SMS or WhatsApp messages.
• Excessive calls and messages meant to intimidate you rather than inform you.
• Using personal data you never agreed to share, such as your photos or contact list.
• Is loan app harassment illegal in Nigeria?
• Yes. Several rules protect borrowers:
• FCCPC lending rules: The FCCPC’s Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-Traditional (DEON) Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025 require lenders to run their business in a “responsible, professional and ethical manner”. When they register, lenders must also declare that their debt recovery practices are consistent with fair lending principles.
• Data protection law: The same Regulations require lenders to comply with the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023. Sharing your loan details with your contacts is a misuse of personal data.
• Heavy penalties: A lender that breaks the Regulations can be fined up to ₦100 million or 1% of its previous year’s turnover, whichever is greater. It can also be suspended or delisted.
• App store rules: Since 2023, Google Play has banned personal loan apps from accessing users’ contacts and photos.
• Regulators are paying attention. By mid-2024, about 400 of the more than 1,000 investigations completed by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) involved digital lenders. In December 2023, the FCCPC reported an 80% drop in loan app harassment after its enforcement campaign. Reporting works.
• What a lender IS allowed to do
• To be fair to lenders, a genuine lender is allowed to:
• contact you, the borrower, through official channels to remind you about repayment;
• charge the late fees written in the loan agreement you accepted;
• share your repayment record with licensed credit bureaus, which can affect your future loans; and
• take legal action through the courts to recover a genuine debt.
• What a lender may not do is shame, threaten or abuse you, or drag other people into your loan.
• Collect evidence of loan app harassment before you report
• Strong evidence makes your complaint much harder to ignore. Do not delete anything, even if the messages are upsetting.
• Collect the following:
• Screenshots of every abusive message. Make sure the sender’s number, the date and the time are visible.
• Call logs showing the numbers that called you and how often.
• Messages your contacts received. Ask them to send you screenshots.
• Your loan details: app name, company name, loan amount, date borrowed, due date and amount repaid.
• Payment receipts for every repayment you have made.
• Your loan agreement, or screenshots of the loan terms shown in the app.
• Store copies somewhere safe outside the phone, such as your email or cloud storage.
• Tip: Under the DEON Regulations, you can ask your lender for a statement of your loan history, and it must provide it within 24 hours. Ask for it in writing. It is useful evidence if the lender disputes what you owe.

How to report loan app harassment: step by step

Step 1: Complain to the lender in writing

The FCCPC asks consumers to complain to the business first. That may feel pointless, but it matters:

• Every registered lender must publish a complaint channel with a phone number and email address.
• The lender must resolve complaints within 24 hours, or within 48 hours at most after telling you the timeframe.
• If it does not, you have clear grounds to escalate.

Send your complaint by email or through the in-app support, so that you have a written record. Use the free template further down this page.

Step 2: Report loan app harassment to the FCCPC

If the harassment continues, or the lender does not reply within 48 hours, escalate to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC):

• Online complaints portal: complaints.fccpc.gov.ng. You can also use it to track your complaint.
• Toll-free line: 0800 000 2121
• Ghostliness: 0805 600 2020 and 0805 600 3030
• Email: contact@fccpc.gov.ng
• X (Twitter): @fccpcnigeria

Include the app name, the company name, your evidence, and a copy of the complaint you sent to the lender.

Step 3: Report misuse of your data to the NDPC

If the app accessed your contacts or photos, or shared your information with other people, that is a data protection breach. Report it to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission:

• Report a privacy violation: services.ndpc.gov.ng/breach
• Email: info@ndpc.gov.ng
• Phone: 0916 061 5551
• Contact page: ndpc.gov.ng/contact

Step 4: Bank or microfinance bank? Escalate to the CBN

If your loan came from a bank or microfinance bank, complain to the bank first. If it does not resolve the problem, escalate to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Consumer Protection Department:

• Email: cpd@cbn.gov.ng
• Official guide: CBN complaints management

Step 5: Report threats to the police

If you receive threats of violence, blackmail or extortion, report it at your nearest police station and bring printed copies of the messages. Threats sent online can be crimes in their own right, separate from the loan.

Step 6: Report the app to the app store

• Google Play: open the app’s page, tap the three dots (⋮), then choose Flag as inappropriate.
• Apple App Store: use Report a Problem, or contact Apple Support.

App stores remove loan apps that break their policies. Your report helps protect other borrowers.

Protect yourself while your complaint is processed

• Remove the app’s permissions: go to Settings → Apps → [the loan app] → Permissions, and turn off Contacts, Photos, Camera and Location.
• Warn your contacts. A short message helps, for example: “If you receive messages about me from a loan app, please ignore them and send me a screenshot.”
• Block abusive numbers only after you have saved screenshots of their messages.
• Never pay into a personal bank account sent by a debt collector over chat. Repay only through the official channels shown in the app.

A word about the debt itself

Reporting loan app harassment does not cancel a genuine loan. You still owe what you agreed to borrow under the terms you accepted. However, the lender has no right to break the law to collect it.

If you are struggling to repay:

• write to the lender and ask for a repayment plan, and
• keep that request as part of your evidence.

If the stress is affecting your health, talk to someone you trust. You do not have to deal with it alone.

Free complaint letter template

Copy this, fill in the brackets, and send it to the lender’s official email address. Keep a copy, so you can attach it to an FCCPC complaint later if needed.

Subject: Formal complaint: harassment and misuse of personal data — Loan ID [your loan ID]

Dear [Lender name] Customer Support,

I am a customer of [App name], operated by [Company name]. On [date] I took a loan of ₦[amount], due on [date]. I have repaid ₦[amount] so far.

Since [date], your representatives have [describe what happened, e.g. “sent messages to people in my contact list calling me a fraudster” or “called me 30 times a day using threatening language”]. Screenshots are attached.

This conduct breaks the FCCPC’s Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025, and the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.

I request that you:

1. Immediately stop contacting anyone other than me about this loan.
2. Stop all abusive and threatening communication.
3. Send me a full statement of my loan account within 24 hours.
4. Confirm in writing the steps you have taken.

If this is not resolved within 48 hours, I will escalate the matter to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.

Yours faithfully,
[Full name] · [Phone number registered with the app]

How to avoid loan app harassment next time

Most loan app harassment comes from unregistered, watchlisted or delisted apps. Before your next loan:

• Check that the app is FCCPC approved. It takes about two minutes.
• Never give a loan app access to your contacts or photos.
• Compare loan apps on TopLoans before you apply.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal for a loan app to message my contacts in Nigeria?

No. Contacting people in your phone book about your loan breaks consumer protection and data protection rules, and Google Play bans loan apps from accessing contacts. Report it to the FCCPC and the NDPC.

Where do I report loan app harassment in Nigeria?

Start with the lender, in writing. If that fails, report it to the FCCPC at complaints.fccpc.gov.ng or call 0800 000 2121. Report data misuse to the NDPC, and report threats of violence to the police.

Will reporting a loan app stop me from having to repay?

No. A genuine loan must still be repaid under the agreed terms. Reporting stops the illegal collection methods, not the debt.

Can a loan app have me arrested for not paying?

Failing to repay a loan is generally a civil matter, not a crime. Threats of arrest are a common intimidation tactic. Save those messages and include them in your complaint.

Can a loan app report me to a credit bureau?

Yes. Lenders can share your repayment record with licensed credit bureaus, and late or missed payments can make it harder to borrow in future. That is a legitimate practice, unlike shaming you to your contacts.

What if the loan app is not registered with the FCCPC?

Report it to the FCCPC anyway. Unregistered lenders are breaking the rules by operating at all. Keep repaying only through official in-app channels, and keep every receipt.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. For your specific situation, speak to a lawyer. Contact details were checked on the official FCCPC, NDPC and CBN websites in October 2026. TopLoans is a loan comparison website, not a lender.

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