Loan Scams

What is a Loan Scam?

Loan frauds are essentially a crime that does not follow any legal guidelines. The money in loan scams never actually materializes. They are not just unfair or have unaffordable terms; they never turn out to be loans.

What types of Loan Scams are there?

Crooks prey on a consumer’s financial weakness by promising financial assistance. Let’s look at the various types of loan frauds through which they lure the victims in.

Student Loans

Student loan scams play out either by charging to help fill out the FAFSA form or by debt relief companies that guarantee loan forgiveness but are just after fees.

They may guarantee impossible offerings with incorrect advice for complex situations. They demand costly upfront payments and are laden with lawyers to appear legitimate.

Most student loans are made through the government, but private student loans are available from banks, credit unions, and other institutions. Also, many personal student loans have variable interest rates, contrary to the lower fixed rates offered by federal loans.

Mortgage

Mortgage scammers often find people who are having financial troubles by reviewing publicly available foreclosure notices. Scammers even promise that the homeowners can stay in their house, followed by signing loan-like paperwork. In reality, the owner is signing off the house to the individual.

Sometimes, they demand counseling or auditing fees but do not deliver any real help.

Personal Loans

Legit personal loans can help you with debt consolidation, but they are not debt relief scams. They promise to settle your debts but end up charging you fees. With your debts still unpaid, your account default, and your credit score gets damaged. It may also lead to a lawsuit from creditors.

Business Loans

In business loan forgeries, perpetrators generally target small business owners, try to lure them with incredible plans, and attempt to sign them up for their fraudulent schemes.

Car Title Loan

With your car title as collateral, you can get a loan of up to 50% of the car’s value. The usual interest rate on a car title loan is 25% per month and must be repaid. If you have a loan of $500, you would have to repay $625 in addition to the fees within 30 days, or your car would get repossessed.

Sometimes, the loan gets rolled over into another month, leading to an even more considerable cash outlay, somewhere around $800, to pay off the interest and fees.

How do Loan Scams Work?

Loan scams lay out various ways, the primary being tricking you into paying money and then not coming through with the loan funds. Standard scammer techniques are:

• They do not require a credit check.
• The scammers demand upfront payment like an application or credit check fee before processing your application.
• They ask you to send money through a channel that is hard to trace and does not involve a bank account.
• They pressure you into making a decision instantly.

Borrowers with bad credit who won’t qualify for other loans could be at risk from scammers who are out to prey on helplessness.

The trademark of a loan fraud is an advance fee. Dishonest lenders charge upfront fees for services, insurance, or processing, by promising future funds when they never actually plan to lend any money.

Advance fee loan scams are still going very strong, the only change being how the victim is approached and engaged. They refer to news and pop culture to sound more relevant and authentic.

How do you spot Loan Scams?

If you are looking for a loan, always go through these red flags to stay safe.

Upfront Money

Do not pay money before getting your loan capital. The scammer might ask you to pay through an unusual method. There is a legitimate fee levied, but any other costs other than that are a red flag

High-pressure sales tactics

Do not fall for the “act now” or the “limited time offer” call to action. These are ways to pressure you to make fast and wrong decisions.

Be 100% sure of what you are diving into, know the process and where you fit in, and ask for verification.

Credit Cross-Check

Your creditworthiness is determined based on your credit score. Therefore, the companies promising not to check your credit are potential scams.

Who approached whom for the loan?

If a company advances toward you out of the blue with an offer for a loan, it is likely a scam.

The physical address

A legitimate lender should have a physical address that you can check. If there is none, it is likely a front for a scam. Check if the company is registered in your state with your state’s attorney general’s office.

Online reviews and complaints

Look for reviews of the loan seekers they have dealt with. If it is not available on their website, you can always go through online social media platforms and perform a search on them. This can help you list out fake loan companies you should be wary of.

Licensure and Registrations

People should only trust the loan companies registered by law. So to check if the company can be trusted with your money, you can contact your state’s bank regulator or else check with the state attorney general to confirm the company’s legitimacy.

Unsolicited loan approval

It is a scam if you are approached saying that your loan has been approved when you don’t recall initiating one.

Online loan scams

Loan scammers are more prevalent online nowadays. They are widely spread on social media platforms taking advantage of the recession. Therefore, you must exercise caution while trusting a lender approaching you online.

What to do if you have been Scammed by Loan Scams?

Regardless of what the loan is, always take precautions to not fall for a scam. Read the entire agreement with the FINE PRINT. Understand the costs, the time you have to clear the due, and your default penalties. Do not sign off on a loan until you fully know the terms and conditions.

It is likely to fall for a loan scam despite taking all the precautions. If you have unfortunately fallen for loan fraud, don’t worry. Our experts will help you get your funds back.