Experts discuss the scam in this week’s Scam Watch with James Walker from Rightly and Louise Baxter from the National Trading Standards Scams Team.
With costs rising around us, more people will be looking to take out a loan, but if you are looking for a loan, be sure to borrow from a legitimate company and be aware of criminals and their often too-good-to-be-true offers. These scams can offer guaranteed loans that require you to pay an upfront fee for the loan. Once the fee has been paid, you do not hear from the criminals again and the loan is never received.
Be aware of loan sharks
A loan shark is someone who lends money to people without the required licence issued by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). So, before you get into any arrangement, be sure to check the FCA’s Financial Services Register.
If a lender isn’t listed as having a current credit licence, don’t borrow money from them.
Ways to check if the lender is legit
Can you answer YES to any of the questions below? If yes, you may have been approached by a loan shark. If this is the case you need to report it.
- Have you been offered a cash loan?
- Have you been threatened when you couldn’t pay it back?
- Does what you owe keep growing even though you are making payments?
When you report the loan shark, it will be confidential, and you can report anonymously.
For more advice, and to report a loan shark visit Stop Loan Sharks.
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