Personal loan scams
- Author: Iohan Colarusso
- Number of comments: : 0 comments
Disguised as peer-to-peer lenders, many ill-intentioned individuals offer easy money through small ad websites (e.g. anibis), on Facebook or via websites that make them look like serious lenders.
We conducted our enquiry to better understand their mechanisms and traps.
What clues give these scams away?
Disguised as peer-to-peer lenders, many ill-intentioned individuals offer easy money through small ad websites (e.g. anibis), on Facebook or via websites that make them look like serious lenders.
We conducted our enquiry to better understand their mechanisms and traps.
What clues give these scams away?
Be aware of the following aspects:
- They are all prepared to lend enormous sums of money to absolutely anyone: millions of Swiss Francs, even up to 100 million! (For a personal loan obtained through normal channels, the maximum is 250,000 CHF and the allocation conditions are strict)
- Extremely low rates: from 2% to 5% (minimum in Switzerland: 5.9% with the Migros bank)
- Repayment period ranging from 1 year to 20 – 30 – 40 years, and some suggest beginning repayments at the 6th month, or only during the months in which you are able to pay! (maximum in Switzerland: up to 10 years with Eny Finance)
- They mainly target people who have been refused by banks, who are having financial difficulties and who are in distress.
- They make many grammar mistakes.
Example of an ad:
Swiss person offering a loan of 1,000 CHF to 2,000,000 CHF to anybody capable to repay with interest at a low rate of 2%. We are people who offer peer-to-peer loans to serious people who need for small businesses, personal investments for only 2% of interest depending on the amount asked given rate, and a deadline of 1 to 20 years. We make local loans and international loans to people all over the world. Our organisation is not a bank and we do not need lots of documents. Fair and honest and trustworthy loan. Contact me now and say to me the amount of money you want to borrow.
How they introduce themselves
They introduce themselves as individuals overflowing with generosity and money and looking to help the whole word, even those who could never pay back a single cent.
Sometimes they try to earn your trust by introducing themselves as a third person recommending a lender (the fraudster himself of course) because they claim to have received the money promised.
The strategy of scams using Facebook is based on highlighting credibility by:
- A large number of members (these are obviously fake)
- Lots of publications and likes
But it is weird that although you are a member, you can’t leave comments… 😉
Our enquiry with 3 con artists
We conducted our enquiry with 3 different con artists.
I introduced myself as a person that has been unemployed for 6 months, legal proceedings have been taken out against me and I have debts … the worst of all possible situations!
Reply from all 3: Woooooah … They all accept to grant me the loan even though there is almost a 100% chance that I won’t repay a cent! Despite this, they ask me to urgently send them the documents. One even accepted to lend me up to one million Francs!!!!
One of the fraudsters even set conditions such as, and I quote, « Must be in full possession of his faculties ». For honesty’s sake, I informed them that I suffered from a severe bipolar disorder and was undergoing heavy treatment, but he accepted my request without hesitation because my state of health met the criteria!!!
Required documents and information: danger!
They encourage you to quickly send a scanned copy of your ID and to reply to a questionnaire similar to the following:
- SURNAME……………………………..
- FIRST NAME……………………………..
- YOUR FULL ADDRESS………………..
- CODE POSTAL………………………………..
- STATE / CITY /………………………………………
- GENDER…………………………………………….
- COUNTRY………………………………………..
- OCCUPATION………………………………
- REASON FOR THE LOAN………………………………….
- DATE OF BIRTH (yyyy-mm-dd)…………………….
- MARITAL STATUS………………………………………………
- TELEPHONE / FAX…………………………………………
- MONTHLY INCOME………………………………..
- DATE WAGES RECEIVED ……………………………….
- YOUR E-MAIL …………………………………………
- Name of your bank :………………………..
- Address of your bank :……………………
- ACCOUNT NO……….
- BIC…………………..
- IBAN…………………
It is very serious and dangerous to provide this information to ill-intentioned strangers! Serious risk of identity theft, they know where you live…
The core of the scam: fees that are owed
Once all the documents have been sent, in order to receive the money, you have to pay fees (apparently to pay the notary, etc.), which they omit from telling you at the beginning of the transaction. These fees range from 100 CHF to 600 CHF.
If you hesitate before paying these fees, they put you in contact with the so-called notary who will certify that these fees are legal. Furthermore, you will be surprised to receive an e-mail from a stranger who will guarantee that this person is perfectly « honest » by pretending to have received the money promised and that they were able to sort out all of their problems.
Once you have paid these fees, not a single cent will obviously be paid into your account. Other fees will be requested to release the money. This will continue until you understand that you have been duped! Then, radio silence, they disappear into thin air…
Morality: Loan application = no fees required
To conclude, when you make a loan application, there are never any fees to pay! Anyone that asks for fees is a fraudster!
Obtaining a personal loan is difficult at the moment. The loan conditions have become increasingly strict since 2003. Obtaining money this easily and under conditions that are this profitable is a lie.
Finally, never provide a copy of your ID or sensitive information about your private life to complete strangers as they don’t care much about data protection!
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