Not sure if your lender’s legit? Here’s how to protect yourself.
8 signs of a personal loan scam
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1. No credit check required.
Most legitimate lenders will check your credit to determine if you’re able to repay them: A high score means you repay your debts in full and on time. If a lender isn’t interested in seeing your credit score, be wary. A scammer typically doesn’t care about your creditworthiness because it’s after your personal information.
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2. The lender isn’t registered in your state.
States require lenders to register for a license. If you find a business isn’t licensed to operate in your state — even if it’s licensed in other states — don’t respond to its lending inquiries. You might have stumbled on a fraudulent website using a business’s name to make money.
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3. Your loan offer is incomplete.
The Truth in Lending Act requires all lenders to provide the complete terms of a loan, including the final cost of the principal plus interest, before you sign on the dotted line. If your offer lacks details, contains spelling or grammar errors or otherwise raises an eyebrow, it could be a scam.
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4. You can’t find a physical address.
If a lender doesn’t provide a physical address or contact information, put the brakes on your loan. Scammers make it difficult to get in touch later, thus avoiding any legal action you might want to pursue against them.
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5. Your offer is expires soon — and you must act now.
If you’re faced with an “urgent offer,” you’ve likely found a scam. Legitimate lenders offer steady rates that depend on your credit. Pressure tactics are designed to drive you to act quickly, before you’re able to spot a scam in progress.
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6. The loan requires payment up front.
Loans demanding “processing,” “insurance” or even “origination” fees before approval are a scam. A lender asking for payment before it’s processed your application is a scammer looking for a quick buck.
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7. You’re guaranteed approval.
There’s no such thing as a guaranteed loan. For approval, a lender will typically check your credit and verify your information. Scammers lure you in with guaranteed approval so they can collect fraudulent upfront fees.
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8. Asks for payment in the form a gift card.
Paying a lender with a gift card is the same as paying with cash — once the money has been used, it’s nearly impossible to trace or get back. No legitimate lender will ask you pay with a gift card, and if your lender is pressuring you to do so, you should find a new loan.
5 factors to look for in a legit lender
Use these tips before signing a contract to be sure you’re dealing with an upstanding business.
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1. It’s easy to contact.
When you call or email a legit lender, you should be met with decent customer support that’s ready to answer your questions. The lender should also clearly display a physical location and its state licensing information online.
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2. It’s website is secure.
Look for a little padlock to the left your address bar to confirm the site is safe. Most lenders encrypt the information you send to it online with 128-bit or 256-bit SSL. If a lender doesn’t, move on. A great offer isn’t worth risking your personal info.
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3. It runs a credit check.
When you apply for a personal loan, you’ll typically get two credit checks: a soft pull to confirm you exist and a hard pull to see your history. If a lender doesn’t care about this important step in the process, it’s likely not legit.
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4. Its loan terms are clear.
A legit lender will provide a transparent contract outlining how much your loan is for, the fees you’ll pay, any potential penalty fees, your interest rate, the total interest you’ll pay and the final cost of your loan. It will also detail when you pay and your payment options. If your contract is incomplete, don’t sign it.
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5. Reviews and ratings are available online.
See what other people say online about this lender. With your research, ask: Are reviews positive or negative? What problems do customers report? Can you find information on the lender? If you can’t find anything positive — or anything at all — you could be looking at a scam business.
Compare personal loans from legit lenders we’ve reviewed
How to avoid a personal loan scam
Here’s how to protect yourself from two common scams you might encounter when applying for a personal loan.
Phishing scams
Among the most common personal loan scams are those that involve fraudsters “phishing” for your personal or financial information.
In a typical phishing scam, you visit a site or open a form that appears to be from a legitimate lender. You might even speak by phone with a caller claiming the need to “confirm” your loan details. In either case, if the scam is successful, you’re tricked into providing your Social Security number, bank account numbers or passwords, which a scammer then uses to steal your money or identity.
How to avoid being “phished”
A key rule of thumb when applying for a loan online is to confirm that you’re on an encrypted page. Look for a padlock to the left of your page’s URL, which itself should start with “https,” indicating a secure site. If you don’t see either, the site you’re on may not be legit.
In general, avoid clicking links in any unsolicited email or popup window. If you don’t trust the source of an email or phone call, get in touch with the lender’s customer support directly to ask about the contact.
And if you can’t confirm a lender, an offer or even loan details, walk away and look elsewhere. Better to not have a loan than risk the potential of having your identity stolen and your bank account drained.
Advance-fee scams
These simpler scams are sometimes combined with phishing scams. In this case, you apply for a personal loan with a fraudulent lender that asks for you to pay a fee to cover processing costs, insure your loan or even guarantee approval before they’ll process your application.
You’re often asked to pay with a wire transfer or prepaid debit card — payments that aren’t traceable, making for an easier getaway. By then, you’re out money and potentially your identifying personal or financial information.
If a lender asks you to provide an upfront fee for any reason, put the brakes on your application. No legitimate lender will ask you to provide money at any point before it processes your application.Some lenders charge an origination fee for their loans, but these fees are typically deducted from your total loan amount.
4 quick ways to see what others say about a lender
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1. Better Business Bureau (BBB).
The BBB is an independent nonprofit dedicated to strengthening relationships between businesses and customers. It rates how a business works by analyzing customer reviews and complaints, allowing businesses to respond with a resolution. A leader in consumer ratings, the BBB is a solid resource.
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2. Trustpilot.
A Danish company, Trustpilot is another consumer-run review site, with some 500,000 new customer reviews published monthly. Combined with the BBB, you can make out a pretty good picture of how a lender runs its business and what you need to know before applying for a loan.
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3. CFPB complaint database.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)’s complaint database is another place to search for warning signs. You can search for “complaint narratives” from current and former customers by company name and date the CFPB received the complaint. You also might want to look into whether the CFPB has taken action against your lender.
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4. Online forums.
Don’t stop with the big review sites. Plenty of online forums like Reddit and Quora allow you to browse customer opinions and crowdsourced answers about lenders and potential scams. Or post your own questions about a lender, and see what customers have to say. If you’re worried that a positive review elsewhere is from a shill, a forum could be a decent alternative for information from people who likely aren’t affiliated with the company.
Lenders to be wary of
You might want to do some extra research and fully read your contract before you get a loan from one of these lenders. While they might not be a scam, they raise some red flags:
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Concourse lending.
Red flag: The BBB gives this lender an F rating. It warns consumers that its mailers don’t fully disclose the terms of new loans according to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations. Concourse lending has failed to respond to the BBB.
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Glider Lending.
Red flag: The BBB gives Glider Lending an F rating based on the fact that that it hasn’t been able to verify the address of this lender. The BBB also hasn’t been able to reach out to staff for basic information about its programs and business owners.
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Quality solutions.
Red flag: Several have reported on the FTC website that they received phone calls about loans they hadn’t applied for from Quality Solutions. It’s likely that Quality Solutions itself is legit — it gets an A+ from the BBB and other customers report having a good experience. But be wary of unsolicited phone calls from companies posing as this lender.
Bottom line
Scammers put a lot of work into gaining your trust so that you click, share or open what they’re pedaling. Which means that real loans are increasingly hard to tell from the fakes. In the end, knowledge is the best defense against personal loan scams.
To find a personal loans from a trustworthy company, you can compare fees, rates and terms of legit lenders we’ve reviewed.
Frequently asked questions
Picture: Shutterstock
Hi
I received an offer from Loan Raft Finance for $30,000/- with very simple terms and conditions, but they asked me to pay $500/- by Cashier Check or Money Order being processing and legal fee.
Could you please let me know the rating and reputation of that company and advise me prior to signing with them.
Hi Zubair,
Thanks for getting in touch with finder. I hope all is well with you. :)
One of the red flags that you should watch out for is when a lender ask money upfront. I have also checked their website and could see that it is not a secure website. Please be cautious and make a deeper research about this company. You can also review the signs of scams on our page to learn more.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua
Iive in Greece. How I find a legit finance in my area? It’s must be only from my country Greece or and from other Europeans country’s?
Hi Foiis,
Thanks for getting in touch! When finding a financing company in your country, the information above that says “5 things to look for in a legit lender” would be a great starting point. It’s also helpful to read about the company in forums and reviews and one that’s been in the business for a long time.
Hope this was helpful. Don’t hesitate to message us back if you have more questions.
Best,
Nikki
Would you like a real-time answer to your question? Try our chat box in the lower-right corner of this page!Is instapaisa a scam?
Hi Paul,
Thanks for reaching out! We currently don’t have information on InstaPaisa. If you suspect that it is a scam, check the guide on our page above and see if there are any red flags. Hope this helps! Feel free to message us, we’re here!
Best,
Nikki
GOOD DAY
this is true or scam ” the transfers are im waiting of validation (authorization)and you must pay the expenses of validation(authorization)4,500.00 ph.to obtain the authorization finance minister and of taxes in order to send the money in your country.
as it is an enternational transfer,the authorizarion of ministry for finance is obligatory to finish your transaction.but withouth this authorization.our bank instirution no power to make enternational transfer.once the payment of the expenses of validation carried out,we will comfirm your tranafer and you can pass to your bank to make the withdraw of funds
the expenses of validation arw not deductible on the transfer.
pls. response my question..tnx
Hi Jannet,
Thanks for getting in touch with finder. I hope all is well with you. :)
Generally, if your sender is asking for money before they can perform the transaction, that should raise a red flag. Moreover, as I read the message sent to you by the user, it has a lot of grammatical and typographical error – a sign that it was poorly written and no effort to show professionalism.
I would advise that you should be cautious when dealing with this sender. What you can do is verify the information directly from the service provider you are using. Plus, be sure to read the guide on this page to learn more about online scams.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua
Payday loan company asking for debit card and login of bank information. Is this common?
Hi Lavonne,
Thanks for reaching out to finder.
Yes, it is quite common for Payday lenders to request for your bank account and login details to verify that you’re eligible. It is safe to give your login information to lenders that are legitimate and reputable. These lenders will not store your login details and they should also have a secure, encrypted page for you to submit your bank account numbers along with your other personal information.
You should still be careful though, as there are also scams out there. Before you submit your application, it’s always worth checking if the short-term loan you’re applying for is legit. You can refer to this page for some tips on how to spot a bad lender.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Charisse
They are telling me to fill up my bank accounts and scan my nationality ID, but they dont want to give their contact informations only email. Is this legit or not?
Hi Sarah,
Thank you for getting in touch with finder.
That situation where the lender refused to provide contact details really would make an applicant in doubt. Now to check if the lender or an institution is legit or not, you may check them through Better Business Bureau’s official page.
I hope this helps.
Have a great day!
Cheers,
Jeni
They are telling me I have to pay the first installment in advance. Is this common practice for a high risk client like me?
Hi Kellie,
Thanks for getting in touch with finder.
If you’re worried if the lender you are dealing with is a scammer, please review the content of this page.
One of the red flags you need to watch out for is when the loan requires payment up front. Loans demanding “processing,” “insurance” or even “origination” fees before approval are a scam. A lender asking for payment before it’s processed your application is a scammer looking for a quick buck.
In most cases, the first installment payment is paid after you get your loan. Read your terms and conditions, make a background check, and see what other people are saying about your lender. By doing these steps, you should be able to determine whether a lender is a scammer or not.
Finally, if you are really unsure, please seek professional and expert help.
Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua