Advance Fee Loan Scams-Telltale signs and prevention
In spite of all the warnings and guidelines issued by a number of different authorities, the amount of people falling for scams is amazing. The advance fee loan scam is one of such scams about which there have been numerous warnings issued to the public at large, still the number of victims falling prey is steadily on the rise.
Advance fee loan scammers post a small advertisement in the newspapers or over the internet, suggesting money to be lent, personal and business loans, etc. Unlike legitimate loan providers, these fraud loan providers are ready to give away loans to people irrespective of their credit background-the first telltale sign. A toll-free phone number is provided wherein the caller is then requested to provide photocopies of their driving license, social security number, bank account numbers, and credit card numbers. Relevant forms are sent and after submitting the form along with the necessary documents, the caller is pleasantly informed that the loan has been sanctioned. Now comes the meaty part. The loan seeker is asked to submit a insurance fee, processing fee or a 2-3 months advance payment (through wired source only) before the loan amount is transferred to their account. Once this ‘fee’ is deposited the approved loan amount never sees the light of the day, because it never existed.
Some of the most common telltale signs of such advance fee loan scams are:
1.Element of urgency: There will always be a sense of urgency in such advance fee loan scams. The scammers or fraudsters will try every trick to make the loan seeker act in haste so that no time is given to the loan seeker for considering the facts.
2.Office location: Almost all of the scammers operating this racket of advance fee loans, will not give the physical location of their office. The main reason behind such an act is that in most cases there is no office of firm to start off with.
3.Connections and affiliations: Every loan provider is associated or affiliated to some financial institution for the purpose of distribution of loans. This is not the case with fraud loan providers.
Preventing and safeguarding oneself from such advance loan fee scammers is a matter of choice rather than the amount of knowledge one possesses regarding finance or fraud-detection.
Some of the guidelines are mentioned as under:
1.Genuine finance or loan providers will never assure you can get a loan or not. Specially if one has a bad credit history or a bankruptcy, getting a loan will be that much difficult.
2.Demanding a advance fee or processing charges prior to actual handing over of the loan amount is a unlawful activity. Any firm claiming any fee or charges beforehand, is a fraud.
3.Unless one is very familiar with the company or individual, giving away personal information will always be a rick option.
A few simple checks and a prudent judgment will go a long way in saving oneself from such possible advance fee loan scams.
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