During times of crisis, the number of scams targeting vulnerable Australians markedly increases. Scammers see a moment of vulnerability and decide that it\u2019s an invitation to act. Any type of financial related scam can leave lasting effects for years and severely damage ones mental and financial health.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re seeking a personal loan, it\u2019s important that you are only engaging with institutions that provide safe personal loans \u2013 free of deceptive or scam-like behaviour. Even tech and financially savvy individuals can fall for loan scams. This article will educate Australians on how to avoid the most common loan scams being conducted right now.<\/p>\n
In 2020, ASIC received a record number of complaints of individuals impersonating private lending firms in order to deceive the vulnerable.<\/p>\n
There are several ways in which you can ensure that a private lender is legit and not going to scam you. All these strategies have been endorsed by ASIC, however, they are not foolproof and it\u2019s important to always do your own research outside of our suggestions.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest personal loan frauds\/scams happens to those who aren\u2019t even in the market for a loan. If your personal data is stolen in anyway, whether that\u2019s through another scam or computer hack \u2013 an individual can apply for a loan on your behalf and get the money deposited into their bank account.<\/p>\n
The financial institution where the loan was issued will then chase you for the repayments of a loan you didn\u2019t even know existed. The impacts of this type of scam can be devastating \u2013 essentially, you are the victim of identity fraud.<\/p>\n
If the scammer opens personal loan accounts in your name and defaults on them, you\u2019ll get a negative credit report and if this is not reported soon enough it may stay on your record for up to 5 years.<\/p>\n
This will impact your ability to get access to ANY sort of financial product in the future. The best way to prevent this type of scam is to regularly check your credit report \u2013 if there is an enquiry you don\u2019t recognise, you must report it right away.<\/p>\n
Firstly, we must set expectations of outcome here \u2013 it\u2019s unlikely you\u2019ll get your money back but there are actions to be taken to limit further damage. Together, we are going to run through a list of different things that can be done to let the proper authorities know you have been scammed.<\/p>\n
Reach out to those closest to you \u2013 whether they are business or personal associates, its important you get the word out. Ensure they don\u2019t fall for the same scam and make sure they are there to support you during the road ahead.<\/p>\n
Possibly the most important step if you\u2019ve exchanged funds already with the scammer. They may be able to stop the transaction and close the account if your details have been compromised. Banks can also complete chargebacks on credit cards if yours was billed fraudulently.<\/p>\n
We encourage you to report any loan scams in Australia to the relevant authorities. In this case it could be the ACCC or ASIC. Visit the government website, scamwatch<\/a>, to get each departments contact information.<\/p>\n If you believe the scammer may have access to your online accounts, it\u2019s imperative that you change your login details. Ensure that your new password is randomly generated and impossible to guess \u2013 this will leave the scammer with no access to your accounts to cause future damage.<\/p>\n Being scammed by a loan company is embarrassing and can cause distress to some victims \u2013 it may be smart to reach out to a counselling or support service that specialises in assisting victims of financial crime.<\/p>\n So, you\u2019re in the market for a personal loan and want to know the tell tail signs of a trustworthy lender?<\/p>\n The most telling sign that a lender is trustworthy is if they have a registered ABN and ACN \u2013 all financial companies in Australia are also required to be registered with ASIC. Visit their website and use their lookup feature to see if the lender you are dealing with appears.<\/p>\n Fundo is making small personal loans easy<\/a> \u2013 get access to $2000 in a short time frame with incredibly flexible repayments. We want you to Enjoy Now and Pay Later. With thousands of 5-star reviews \u2013 you can be sure to trust the passionate team at Fundo. Visit our FAQ page<\/a> to learn more about how we are helping Australians nationwide.<\/p>\n Disclaimer:\u00a0<\/b>The opinions expressed in the Blog are for general informational and entertainment purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific investment product. It is only intended to provide education about the financial industry.\u00a0 The views reflected in the commentary are subject to change at any time without notice.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" During times of crisis, the number of scams targeting vulnerable Australians markedly increases. Scammers see a moment of vulnerability and decide that it\u2019s an invitation to act. Any type of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundo.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundo.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundo.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundo.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundo.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=700"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/fundo.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":706,"href":"https:\/\/fundo.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700\/revisions\/706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundo.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundo.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundo.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundo.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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What To Look For In A Trustworthy Loan Company <\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n