A new report from the Better Business Bureau warns consumers of numerous ways scammers have found a home within the shadows of the payday loan industry.
The report issued this week said that new frauds are often leveraging information stolen from legitimate lenders in order to defraud people.
Due to a boom in online payday lending companies in recent years, hackers are able to steal data and more easily imitate real lenders.
That makes it easier for them to offer fake loans, pressure people into believing they still owe money, pose as debt collectors or demand upfront payment for loans, said Josh Planos, vice president of communications and public relations for the BBB.
The study also highlights how uneven state laws have allowed predatory payday loan companies to continue to thrive.
FROM THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA:“Sometimes we find ourselves at the mercy of payday loans”
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Payday loan scams to watch out for
The BBB report lists a few different scenarios that make up more 3,000 payday lender-related scam complaints received since 2019. Consumers have collectively lost millions to these scams, with the median amount lost per person in 2022 reaching $1,000.
Stolen information: If you’ve taken out a loan from a legitimate lender in the past, hackers could access your information and contact you posing as a representative of that company. Scammers will then try to convince…
