At Creditbloggers, we’ve been exposing advance fee loan scams for a number of years now. We like to help make sure that our readers don’t lose money to these bottom feeders that prey on consumers in difficult situations.
Today a reader posted a warning on the Credit.com forums about a company from Canada called Credit Leader INC. which “approved” her for a loan of $8,500.00. They told her she had to pay a $300.00 fee upfront to get her funds. Our astute reader “Tisha” smelled scam. So she started digging.
She couldn’t find the company online, nor was the phone number listed in Canadian directory assistance. When she asked the loan rep about the lack of a website, he said, “Well, web pages are so easy to hack, so we don’t have one.” As for the phone listing, he explained it was unlisted so banks “Wouldn’t harass them for taking business from them.” It would be comical if it weren’t so disgusting.
He then told her to set up a bank transfer to pay the fee, since it would be “traceable” and “secure.” But a call from Tisha to her bank confirmed that if she did this kind of transfer there would be no way to get her money back.
Now she reports that this company is calling her, threatening her with legal action for not paying their fees for the paperwork they prepared! They are telling her they are “going to take her home, car, and anything that is in her bank account” if she doesn’t pay the fees.
But she’s not intimidated. She says: “Don’t let anyone bully you into sending money. I have since contacted the police, and have them dealing with this case.”
Good advice, Tisha. And thanks for the heads up.
If you have a warning about an advance fee loan scam, please be sure to share it here or in our forums.
Gerri
Detweiler – Personal finance author and Credit Advisor for Credit.com, Gerri contributes budgeting, debt
recovery and savings information online. She is also the co-author of Reduce Debt, Reduce Stress: Real Life Solutions for Solving Your Credit Crisis.
Gerri Detweiler Credit.com's Personal Finance Expert, Gerri focuses on financial legislation, budgeting, debt recovery and consumer savings information. She is also the co-author of Debt Collection Answers: How to Use Debt Collection Laws to Protect Your Rights, and Reduce Stress: Real-Life Solutions for Solving Your Credit Crisis as well as host of TalkCreditRadio.comTalk Credit Radio. Reach Gerri at creditexperts@credit.com.
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Im curious about Peer to Peer lending (as far as getting loans) I am familiar with a few of the groups that facilitate p2p lending but this type of lending is becoming more and more popular for investors and for people in need of personal loans. For that reason there are a lot of new companies trying to jump into that market. I am sure there is a high risk involved in this sort of investing if you do go through the big name reputable companies. There are just so many new sites that offer social lending that that have fraud written all over them. I would say stick with companies like Prosper or lending club, they have been around longer and are proven to work.