Beware of unauthorised lenders offering fake loans on the Internet, Belgium's Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) warned consumers on Monday in a press release in which it listed 47 fraudulent lenders.
Consumers come into contact with such providers in a variety of ways, the authority explains: they receive unsolicited messages via email or social media or find advertisements online.
The fraudsters claim to be authorised lenders or registered credit intermediaries, and do not hesitate to use the names or logos of well-known credit institutions.
They offer fake loans at very attractive conditions to coax consumers into giving them money. For example, they claim to lend large amounts at a low interest rates. They also claim that there will be no credit check on the consumer to determine whether he or she is a poor payer who has taken out loans in the past and was unable to repay them.
Consumers who accept the credit offer are asked to pay some costs associated with the credit up front. These may be presented as an insurance premium to cover the lender against a default on the loan, file handling costs, administrative costs, etc., but these are all fictitious costs, FSMA notes.
Once the consumers have paid these so-called costs, the ‘lender’ disappears into thin air and it is nearly impossible to recover the sums paid.
The FSMA provides a list of the illegally operating companies in its press release, which is available at: In need of quick cash? Beware of fake credit | FSMA
