If you have been scammed by a loan company it can sometimes feel like there’s no way out. There are certain steps that you need to take if you are in this position in order to report the crime. This article will look at the 5 steps that you should take if you have been scammed by a loan company as well as what you should do in order to prevent being scammed if you are not yet a victim. Read on for more information!
Write Down Your Story
The first step that you need to take if you are a victim of a loan scam is to construct your story. It is essential that you write down everything that you can remember, ensuring that you keep it concise and easy to understand. You should initially talk about how the scammer approached you, and then detail every step of the process along the way.
You will need to repeat this story throughout the process and so you should ensure that you write it out so that it is consistent every time you have to go into it.
Report It To The FTC
You should initially report the crime to the FTC. In order to do this, you should visit the complaint site and file a complaint online. Head to reportfraud.ftc.gov in order to report this. When you go to the site you will be guided through the process of filing a complaint. This will help you to do each step correctly.
File The Complaint With The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
The IC3 is run by the FBI and it is important that you also file a complaint with them. You can do this on the website. When you do this, your complaint will be processed and you will then be able to refer it to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
File A Complaint With The CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
The next thing you need to do is to file a complaint with the CFPB. This is a government resource that is put in place in order to regulate consumer products and services. They look at the financial laws and are in place in order to enforce these laws. The CFPB can also give advice on these laws as they are also available to educate and empower people in their financial decisions.
Call The Police
You can also call the police in this situation as this can help you. You should ring the police in the area where the crime occurred and they could help to find the scammer. Often, the police can do very little as the scammers usually give fake addresses and they are very hard to track down. It is still useful to have reported the crime to the police so that they are aware of the crime.
How To Identify Loan Scammers?
There are a few different ways to identify loan scammers. These include:
Asked To Pay An Upfront Fee
If you are asked to pay an upfront fee before you fill out the loan application then it is likely that it is a scam. If you are taking out a loan with a legitimate lender then you will never be asked to pay anything before you receive the loan. In most cases, it is illegal for them to ask for an upfront fee. In a lot of cases, the scammer will justify this payment by calling it a processing fee or insurance. These fees will never be paid upfront.
Asked For Card Details
If you are asked to provide your card details then it is likely that this is a scam. No money should be taken off of your bank card. Instead, on legitimate loans, the processing fees will be taken off of the loan amount before you receive the loan into your account. If a loan company asks for a debit card or an ATM card then it is likely a scam.
Amount Is Different
If you have applied for a loan and the amount that you are borrowing is a lot more than the loan that you applied for, then this is likely a scam. As well as this, sometimes you will be emailed an offer for a loan with low interest rates when you haven’t even applied for a loan recently.
Offers That Are Too Good
If you receive an offer for a loan that is far too good to be true then it is likely to be a scam. If you receive an unrealistic offer for interest then you should not go any further with that loan company. You will never get a 0% interest loan, so ensure that you consider this when you are choosing your lender.
Any legitimate lender will have to check whether or not you are capable of paying back the loan, so if this check doesn’t happen then you should block the scammer!
Forced To Make Decisions
If you are being pressured by a lender to make a quick decision then be wary of the company. No loan company will put this kind of pressure on you if they are legitimate. You should ensure that you are not being pressured to make a decision on your loan as this indicates that you are the victim of a scam.
Request Personal Information
In some cases, scammers use these loan sites in order to steal information about your identity in order to commit fraud. They may impersonate a loan company in order to gather your personal information. You should never give out any personal information unless you are aware of what it is being used for.
How To Protect Yourself From Further Risks?
If you have been scammed by a loan company, it is a good idea to consider how to protect yourself from further risks. You can do this by ensuring that if the scammer tries to contact you again, you ignore them. Ensure that you keep a record of when they are trying to contact you, and don’t answer the phone to them.
If you have given any access to your computer to a scanner then you will need to ensure that you block them out of this. They may have accessed your passwords so you should ensure that you reset these.
Run a scan on your computer to ensure that there are no viruses on your computer. If you have transferred any money to the scammer then you should let the police know. You can do this by calling 101. You are better off if this is done in the first 24 hours after the transfer.
Final Thoughts
If you have been scammed by a loan company there are 5 very important steps that you need to take. This article has explored these 5 steps to take if you have been scammed by a loan company. This article has also gone through a few ways that you can avoid being scammed in this way, as well as some ways that you can protect yourself from any further risks and prevent this type of thing happening again.