Facebook Marketplace or various sales groups are wonderful tools to sell goods. Unfortunately, there are also scammers and loan sharks there. Recently, a Facebook user received responses from supposed lenders to his for-sale ad. What was noticeable was that the messages were often identical and made generous loan offers. An example of such a message:

“Hello, We are an association of public investors; We offer loans from €5,000 to €900,000,000 worldwide, with a maximum repayment period of 2 years to 30 years. the annual interest rate is 2% per annual interest rate. The loan is granted to those who receive a fixed monthly pension. For more information about the loan offer, send us your WhatsApp number and email address.”
The user asked us what happens if he accepts such offers and whether he should report these suspicious messages directly to Facebook or simply ignore them and block the sender.
Loan sharks take advantage of people's desperation and distress
First of all, such offers are often fraudulent. Loan sharks and fraudsters exploit people's desperation and distress to lure them into debt traps or extract their personal information. The issue of “advance fee fraud” plays a major role here.
Advance fee fraud involves tricking victims into paying a fee upfront in order to receive a larger prize or a loan. In this case, the scammer asks the victim to pay a deposit or a fee before the loan is granted. Once the victim transfers the money, the scammer disappears, leaving the victim without a loan and with less money in the account.
If you are confronted with this, you should be careful and protect yourself. Below are a few tips:
- Ignore and block: Do not respond to such messages and block the senders to prevent further unwanted messages.
- Check credibility: If a loan offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Always check the credibility of the provider before accepting such offers.
- Protect personal information: Never give out personal information such as bank details, social security number or address to unknown people.
Finally, such messages and profiles should definitely be reported to Facebook. This helps make the platform more secure and protects other users from potential scammers.
In such situations, it is advisable to seek professional help or contact a trustworthy credit institution. Please note that reputable lenders never ask for money in advance and always offer transparent and understandable loan conditions.
How can you recognize a possible credit fraudster and loan shark?
Spotting credit scammers on Facebook or other social platforms can be a challenge, especially if they are clever and sophisticated. However, there are some characteristics and warning signs to watch out for:
- Deals Too Good : If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Extremely low interest rates, large loan amounts without collateral or guaranteed approval are often warning signs.
- Require prepayment : In many countries, it is illegal to charge upfront fees for a loan. If someone charges a fee to “process” or “release” a loan before you receive the money, they are probably a scammer.
- Urgency : Loan scammers often use urgency to put pressure on their potential victims. If someone tells you that you must act immediately to take advantage of the offer, you should be careful.
- Anonymity : Scammers often avoid direct interactions and prefer anonymous communication channels. They may use fake profiles and ask you to communicate via messenger services or email instead of using official communication channels or platforms.
- Unprofessional appearance : Poor grammar, spelling mistakes, or unclear logos can indicate that it is a scam. A professional company will ensure that its communication is professional and error-free.
- Lack of accreditations : Reputable lenders are typically accredited by government or industry regulators. If there is no information about such accreditation, it is probably a scam.
- Request for personal information : If someone asks you for personal or financial information without any obvious reason, you should be suspicious. Credit scammers often use such information for identity theft or other scams.
Also read: Fraud at the front door: From fake tradesmen and feigned distress
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