RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The pandemic has put some of us into a tight financial situation, and that’s a perfect opportunity for scammers to offer you a guaranteed loan with no credit check.
However, if you fall for the scheme, you don’t get a loan and you end up paying money to the scammers.
It starts with a text or email telling you you’re eligible for a loan and it’s just in time because the bills are piling up.
“A lot of these scammers are using the names of legitimate business,” says Alyssa Parker of the Better Business Bureau of Eastern N.C. “It seems like it’s on the up and up, but it’s not.”
Normally, when you apply for a loan, there are credit checks, but these scammers don’t do that. That’s the hook used to help snag you.
“That’s one of the selling points,” said Parker. “No legitimate lender is going to provide you with a loan without a credit check.”
The criminals say they’ll send the loan money right to your bank account and you can access it right away, but no money ever gets there.
Those scammers are after your cash and explain it as a so-called “fee.”
“They say, ‘you need to provide insurance money for this loan’,” said Parker.
However, the “loan” check they deposit into your bank account bounces and you’re out the money…