By Madeleine Villa [1]
BELLEVILLE – Belleville police have been receiving multiple complaints about fraudulent online loan applications.
The fraud involves offering a loan, typically to people with bad credit ratings. Applicants are required to send in an advance fee. The loan never comes, and the applicant loses the money paid as the up-front fee.
Ads for these fake loans are commonly found in newspaper classifieds, online and other publications, police say.
“If you have bad credit and a company is willing to advance you a loan for an ‘insurance fee,’ then the company is likely not legitimate,” according to a press release from the police department Tuesday.
Police are also reminding people that it is illegal for a company to request an up-front fee for a loan.
If you have been scammed, you can report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud centre at 1-888-495-8501 or on the centre’s website [2].