Thousands in Uzbekistan opt for voluntary credit ban after rise in loan scams

Between June and July, 73,000 citizens of Uzbekistan opted to block themselves from receiving loans as a preventive measure. The self-ban service was introduced against the backdrop of rising cyber fraud and incidents of loans being fraudulently taken out in people's names without their knowledge.

According to the Credit Information and Analytical Center (CIAC), 73,000 individuals have voluntarily set a self-ban on credit issuance since the service became available on June 6. The feature allows individuals to either add or remove themselves from the national registry of persons prohibited from entering into credit agreements.

The initiative was introduced under a law signed by the president on March 4 and is aimed at protecting citizens from fraudulent loan activity conducted without their consent.

The service is free of charge and can be accessed either through the credit bureau's website or via the Unified Portal of Interactive Public Services (my.gov.uz).

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Cybersecurity Center, the number of cybercrimes in Uzbekistan increased 68-fold between 2019 and 2024.