An Advance Fee Loan Scam requires
someone who is applying for a loan to pay an upfront fee to receive the loan. Legitimate
lenders disclose their fees clearly and prominently. They also take their fees
out of the amount that you borrow and are paid after the loan is approved. Stay
away from loans requiring advance fees.
The Washington State Department of
Financial Institutions (DFI) recently issued two warnings about companies apparently
employing Advanced Fee Loan Scams to take money from innocent citizens trying
to get loans.
One company, calling itself
QwikCashLoans, LLC (which also may be associated with GoCashLoans, LLC), offered
a consumer a $5,000 loan that would be deposited into their account the next
day if the consumer provided a $340 Google Play card to verify the consumer’s
income. When the company received the $340 card, it asked for an additional $420
Google Play card to verify taxes.
Another company, Full Spectrum
Loans requested advance fees of between $1,500 to $3,200 in exchange for assistance
in obtaining residential mortgage home loans or residential mortgage loan
refinances. Full Spectrum also may have impersonated the identity of a licensed
mortgage loan originator to gain consumers’ information and trust.
In neither case did the companies provide a
loan after receiving the fees that it asked for.
At the time of its notices, DFI had
not verified the facts in each of the above cases.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
has six red flags that indicate a loan offering is an Advance Fee Loan Scam,
1. A
lender who isn’t interested in your credit history.
2. Fees
that aren’t disclosed clearly or prominently
3. A
loan that is offered by phone.
4. A
lender who uses a copy-cat or wanna-be name.
5. A
lender who is not registered in your state.
6. A
lender who asks you to wire money or pay an individual.
For more information about the two
companies and Advance Fee Loan Scams check out the following links,
Department f Financial Institutions:
Federal Trade Commission:
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