The Scammers That Keep Coming Back for More
— -- Dear ABC News Fixer: I was trying to get a loan for $8,000 from an online lender. They told me I was approved, and all I needed to do was to put $120 on a Green Dot MoneyPak to show them I am able to make my payments.
I did, but then they said I needed to pay $500 for taxes and $340 for a processing fee, which I did. However, after that I decided I would rather just cancel it. They said I could, but I’d have to pay a $240 cancellation fee, which I did.
I never got my original $960 back. And then I got another call telling me that the loan officer had scammed me. The caller said he was a general manager for the company and he wanted to make it right. He said all I needed to do was to put $200 on the Green Dot card and I would get my loan.
I did that, but then they said the loan was not going through because the bank needs $250 more for taxes.
- Sophia S., Orlando, Fla.
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Dear Sophia: Good lord. The first thing the ABC News Fixer did was tell you to STOP SENDING ANY MORE MONEY.
The awful truth is there was never going to be a loan, and these cowards were just stealing your money. This is the worst kind of scam: one that preys upon people who are seeking to get a better financial footing. Instead of lending you money, they are taking it from you.
What you experienced is a classic advance-fee loan scam. The important thing to remember about these scams is that it is illegal under the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule for a lender to require an up-front fee before the loan money is disbursed. (Legitimate lenders will often charge application, appraisal or credit report fees, but they will take them at the time of the borrowing, often from the amount that you borrow. Legitimate lenders also do not guarantee loans regardless of a person’s credit history.)
Green Dot Corp., together with consumer advocates, has been trying to educate the public about such scams. Their MoneyPak card can be a convenient way to transfer money without needing a bank account – the consumer just loads the card with money at the point of sale and shares the card’s secret code number with the payee. But unfortunately, scammers have caught on, too.
We tried almost two dozen times to reach your scammers by phone, using various numbers they had given you. At the end, we got through to a man who had called you from a Jamaica area code. At first, he persisted with the fiction that you were going to get a loan; then the phone line went dead and he couldn’t be reached again.
These guys often are based overseas, using throw-away phones and “spoofed” U.S. phone numbers. Consumers who encounter such a scam are encouraged to report it to IC3.gov or FTC.gov. There’s more good information HERE.
We’re so sorry you lost all this money. It may be a small comfort, but here’s hoping your story helps others avoid the same scam.
- The ABC News Fixer
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