Fraudsters are acting as legitimate personal loan providers to rob consumers out of their well-deserved money this year, as discovered by the Likemoney team. This article will cover how to apply for a loan without getting scammed.
On the off chance that you are approached by someone offering a personal loan at the at the instance of a deposit upfront admin fee, odds are you could become a victim of a scam and you will lose your money. According to Clientèle , part of the JSE-listed Clientèle Limited Group, there has been an upsurge in scams where people are persuaded that they are applying for real personal loans. The organization is not by any means the only firm targeted in the scam. Others include DirectAxis, Atlas Finance,
Recent comments on Likemoney.co.za and the Likemoney Facebook product review pages revealed that some South African have fallen victim to scammers posing as Direct Axis. A woman applied for a loan at Direct Axis and received an email stating that her loan has been approved and they asked her to pay just under a thousand rand so they could deposit the money into her bank account. No company will ever ask you to pay money in order to secure a loan. If a company asks you to deposit money you must evidently know you are about to be scammed.
Clientèle said fraudsters access databases of names and contact details in the public domain and then pose as Clientèle or other financial institutions, utilizing the company’s own branding, to draw clueless shoppers into applying for loans. The conmen then request them to pay a deposit or initiation fee into a bank account and this is the point at which the fraud or theft of the customers funds takes place. So far about 120 people have fallen victim of the personal loan scam and reported it to Clientele and one person has so far been conned out of R74,000 after thinking he would be granted a business loan.
Likemoney Fraud Prevention Guidelines:
a. Go to the companies website to identify what products they really use and their terms and conditions.
b. Generally unprofessional scammer advertisements in South Africa contain spelling, grammatical and alignment errors which are CLEAR indicators of fraud. You should also take notice of images, logos and any other suspicious brand adaptations that look as if they were generated within the advertisement.
c. If you are suspicious about a website or call centre agent, don’t reveal any information.
d. No company will ever ask you to pay money upfront in order to secure a loan.
e. Check if the contact details correspond with the details on the official website. If they don’t match then don’t contact them.
f. If the email is not sent out from an IP address, which is traceable in South Africa, and it differs from electronic email addresses reflected on official website pages then this is also an indicator of fraud.
Loan Application Process:
The loan application process can be done right here on Likemoney whereby you can compare personal loans.
a. You must be permanently employed or employed under a fixed term contract (not self-employed);
b. Your salary must be deposited into your bank account electronically.
c. Must earn more than R2,000 per month.
General documents you will need if you get approved:
a. Identification document (you must be 18 years or older).
b. Original proof of residential address (any of the approved documents in your name with your street address).
c. Latest salary slip.
d. 3-month bank statement showing your last 3 salary deposits.
We hope that this information on how to apply for a loan without getting scammed helped. Remember to be vigilant.
Other related articles:
Why you should never use a personal loan to pay for your car