Beware of loan scams during festive seasons

How these scams work: 

• They may advertise online or contact you by telephone or email out of the blue; 
• They may also approach you through social media or messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, or Facebook Messenger.
• They may impersonate a legitimate local lending provider but contact you from telephone numbers (often from overseas) or email addresses different to the ones listed on the legitimate entity’s website. They might use Gmail, Hotmail or email domains that appear the same as the legitimate entity’s domain (Example: @abc.com vs @abc1.com).
• They may offer attractive loan or credit terms such as extremely low interest rates, low or no establishment fees (zero or lower than rates offered by other providers); 
• They may claim that loan approvals are guaranteed with no credit checks or proof of income.
  See: False social media advertisements – Pension loans (multiple accounts)
• They may ask for advance fees such as a deposit for the loans;
• They may ask you to make payments to overseas bank accounts or with cryptocurrencies; 
• They may ask to set up direct debit authority to debit money from your bank account. Once the authority is set up, they are authorised to take money out of your account.