Lending Scams, Frauds, Cons and Other Questionable Deals

[JW Najarian]

Lending Scams, Frauds, Cons and Other Questionable Deals

CREPIG over that last three years, as with any active business networking site, has seen its share of cons and scams.  No more, no less, but enough that we feel compelled  to warn our members on a continued basis.  We have, in the past written blogs (http://jwnajarian.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/scams-cons-and-questiona.../) on various scams and cons and yet we still see people being ripped off, and hope that violators get reported to the appropriate entities. In fact we took delight in seeing an offender caught.

CREPIG does not vet our members, but we do watch for questionable deals and possible cons.  CREPIG has suspended or banned many members because they have not met our policies or because they have been reported numerous times by members.  As we grow we will have a harder time identifying these deals and the truth is we are not the Internet police and we do have to leave common sense to the member.

We welcome reports from our members about questionable deals and keep them anonymous, but often cannot tell if someone is legitimate or not.  We do not want to play judge and jury and believe you are innocent until proven otherwise, so although we do not take reports lightly, we also try to give all members benefit of the doubt.

Please use common sense when getting involved in any project or deal.  Do your due diligence.

Here are some tips from the FTC that may help you:

Advance-Fee Loan Scams: ‘Easy’ Cash Offers Teach Hard Lessons

Looking for a loan or credit card but don’t think you’ll qualify? Turned down by a bank because of your poor credit history?

You may be tempted by ads and websites that guarantee loans or credit cards, regardless of your credit history. The catch comes when you apply for the loan or credit card and find out you have to pay a fee in advance. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, that could be a tip-off to a rip-off. If you’re asked to pay a fee for the promise of a loan or credit card, you can count on the fact that you’re dealing with a scam artist. More than likely, you’ll get an application, or a stored value or debit card, instead of the loan or credit card.

The FTC says these red flags can tip you off to a loan scam:

• A lender who isn’t interested in your credit history.  A lender may offer loans or credit cards for many purposes — for example, so a borrower can start a business or consolidate bill payments. But one who doesn’t care about your credit record should give you cause for concern. Ads that say “Bad credit? No problem” or “We don’t care about your past. You deserve a loan” or “Get money fast” or even “No hassle — guaranteed” often indicate a scam.
  
  Banks and other legitimate lenders generally evaluate creditworthiness and confirm the information in an application before they guarantee firm offers of credit — even to creditworthy consumers.
• Fees that are not disclosed clearly or prominently. Scam lenders may say you’ve been approved for a loan, then call or email demanding a fee before you can get the money. Any up-front fee that the lender wants to collect before granting the loan is a cue to walk away, especially if you’re told it’s for “insurance,” “processing,” or just “paperwork.” 
  
  Legitimate lenders often charge application, appraisal, or credit report fees. The differences? They disclose their fees clearly and prominently; they take their fees from the amount you borrow; and the fees usually are paid to the lender or broker after the loan is approved.
  
  It’s also a warning sign if a lender says they won’t check your credit history, yet asks for your personal information, such as your Social Security number or bank account number. They may use your information to debit your bank account to pay a fee they’re hiding.
• A loan that is offered by phone. It is illegal for companies doing business in the U.S. by phone to promise you a loan and ask you to pay for it before they deliver.
• A lender who uses a copy-cat or wanna-be name. Crooks give their companies names that sound like well-known or respected organizations and create websites that look slick. Some scam artists have pretended to be the Better Business Bureau or another reputable organization, and some even produce forged paperwork or pay people to pretend to be references. Always get a company’s phone number from the phone book or directory assistance, and call to check they are who they say they are. Get a physical address, too: a company that advertises a PO Box as its address is one to check out with the appropriate authorities.
• A lender who is not registered in your state. Lenders and loan brokers are required to register in the states where they do business. To check registration, call your state Attorney General’s office or your state’s Department of Banking or Financial Regulation. Checking registration does not guarantee that you will be happy with a lender, but it helps weed out the crooks.
• A lender who asks you to wire money or pay an individual. Don’t make a payment for a loan or credit card directly to an individual; legitimate lenders don’t ask anyone to do that. In addition, don’t use a wire transfer service or send money orders for a loan. You have little recourse if there’s a problem with a wire transaction, and legitimate lenders don’t pressure their customers to wire funds.

You can contact the FTC

FTC’s Consumer Response Center
Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20580
Call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357)
http://www.ftc.gov

The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

Where to Complain

If you think you’ve had an experience with an advance-fee loan scam, report it to the FTC.

The FTC works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. Watch a new video, How to File a Complaint, at ftc.gov/video to learn more. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.  To lodge a complaint with the FTC: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov

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Craigslist has a great page devoted to scams:  http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams

There Bullet Points are as follows:

• DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON - follow this one simple rule and you will avoid 99% of the scam attempts.  I would say you should also get their personal info.
• NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM or any other wire service - anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer.
• FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON, and BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later.
• CRAIGSLIST IS NOT INVOLVED IN ANY TRANSACTION, and does not handle payments, guarantee transactions, provide escrow services, or offer "buyer protection" or "seller certification" Nor does CREPIG
  
• NEVER GIVE OUT FINANCIAL INFORMATION (bank account number, social security number, eBay/PayPal info, etc.)
  
• AVOID DEALS INVOLVING SHIPPING OR ESCROW SERVICES and know that ONLY A SCAMMER WILL "GUARANTEE" YOUR TRANSACTION.
• • most online escrow sites are FRAUDULENT, operated by scammers
  • for more info, do a Google search on "fake escrow" or "escrow fraud"
• inquiry from someone far away, often in another country

Here is some additional information on how to report Scammers.

• Canadian PhoneBusters hotline: [phone]
• Competition Bureau Canada: 800-348-5358
• Internet Fraud Complaint Center
• Software Piracy (http://www.siia.net/piracy/report.asp)

I believe as the economy grows worse, people will get more and more desperate. Many will throw common sense out the window and will do, at best, limited due diligence.  There is no free lunch or instant gratification and there is no such thing as something for nothing or shortcuts.

Hopefully the information above will help some of you keep out of trouble.

JW Najarian
www.CREPIG.com
www.CREDAA.com
www.NetworkingFools.com

[Jide Abe]

Hello,

Thanks for your information, do you mean that escrow account is also scam? Please give me more details on it.

How can one confirm real escrow account to deal with.

Jide Abe

[JW Najarian]

This info is from Craigslist so I have no info, but if you do as the Craigslist suggests and Google the phrases offered you can find out more. For your convenience the phrases are links that automatically search Google for you.

Check it out... As it turns out there are hundreds of stories about fake escrow services.

I used to insist that I use an escrow service I knew and trusted, when told that mye money could be held in escrow while the deal was done. If the other side said no, then I just assumed scam.

JW

[Michael J. McCann]

I would watch out for banks like, Bank of America that cashes money orders and travelers checks. If you ask them to cash them right away. They have to be cleared right away. The bank has instructed workers to convince you to just put them in and they will clear in 24 hours. It is a lie. They take 10 days. Bank of America is a major part of the scam.

[JW Najarian]

Are you saying the real BofA? I have done this via BofA and Wells. Neither allowed same day depending on amounts and other factors.

[Alex Misico]

Mr. Najarian,

Thank you for the email and information on fraud / scam. The only way I have done deals with out of state escrow is to receive the state license of that origination / company to verify there creditability. I have done acquisition around the world. I can only suggest that if someone is venturing out side their area that they research those individuals and ask for successful transactions that can be verified or don't do the deal.

Alex Misico
skype: alex.misico2

[JW Najarian]

Great advice Alex. The best advice here is not to do deals that are outside your area of expertise.

[JW Najarian]

Thank you Monica, each day I get offers from most governments, B of A, Disney, every lottery and Bill Gates himself to receive millions by just sending my personal info. I have won every lottery and am very important to many kings and presidents of major countries.

Many women want me and I can get all my software and drugs for almost nothing.

I also get many offers to get 250M for a mere 50K because many banks around the world and the FED Reserve are running money giveaways. They picked me because I am so important to the world economy and all is kept secret as the knowledgable people that give away all this cash to people they meet over the Internet, do not want just anyone to know about these incredible programs.

It goes on and on...

We all need to watch closely, but better yet if we realize that there is no FREE Lunch and no instant gratification.

JW

[Bill Evans, CREPIG Advisor]

JW:

 

Thank you for taking the time and effort to write this helpful explanation of the various scams you have seen at CREPIG, and the ways in which we all can look to protect ourselves. You are the quintessential CREPIG/social media activist. I hope that the membership here and at CREDAA continue to support you, the sites and their fellow members. You show leadership and a conscience. Glad that we can get such attributes somewhere now.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Evans