Stay fraud aware
Impersonation scams asking for upfront fees
There are many fraudsters out there attempting to impersonate lenders like us. They will ask you to pay an upfront fee before paying out your loan, often calling it a loan fee or loan insurance. Legitimate lenders will never ask you to pay them a fee before giving you a loan.
Fraudsters are always looking for new ways to take advantage of regular people. Many use well-known brands like ours to try and trick you. These fraudsters may mimic real lenders but with slight alterations that are easy to miss in an email or on a website, e. g. misspellings in the company name. They may also point you to a legitimate website in an email from a fake address, so itʼs important you inspect these thoroughly.
Fraudsters may also pretend to be employees that work for Lendable to add more credibility to their scam. In some situations, the person being scammed is often cold-called or is invited to call the fraudster back to make them more confident that the scammer is the real company.
They may also share real information with you from an application you have made in an attempt to convince you that they are the real lender.
Investment scams and how to avoid them
Stay aware of scams, always remember
Stop
Take a moment and think, is this offer or request genuine? Check if the offer is realistic by searching for the product and comparing the price to other retailers’ offers.
Challenge
Is this a scam? Before you place an order, booking, or share your details, use review service websites like Trustpilot to discover other people’s experiences or review the legitimacy of a company via Companies House or the FCA Register for Financial Institutions.
Protect
If you believe you have shared your details with a suspicious retailer, website or third party, contact us immediately on 020 3322 1948.
Red Flags
If you think you are being scammed, look out for some of these red flags:
Social media ads offering investments with ‘little risk’
Advertisements on social media can be paid for by anyone; some use the faces of celebrities, influencers or even government agencies to lure you into a false sense of security.
Contact out the blue via call, text or email
Many scammers can find your information online through data breaches. They will then send a message claiming to be someone else offering either a product or a financial opportunity.
They may contact you via:
- Phone calls
- Text messages
- E-mails
- Whatsapp / Messenger / Instagram direct messages
Pressure to make decisions quickly
Fraudsters tend to create a false sense of urgency, often highlighting that there’s a penalty if you don’t do something in a short time frame. This is a pressure tactic to scare you and give you no time to think.
Some scare tactics include:
- “Having to pay a fine or face prison time”
- “Owing money to HMRC”
- “Impacting your credit score”
You’re asked to download software
No legitimate financial institution would ever ask this from a consumer. Illegitimate software claiming to help you gain a product can include spyware or ransomware. This can even give a hacker access to your computer.
Stay safe online
Check the Financial Services Register
The FCA has a service that lets you know if a company is run in a professional manner, which can help to verify if a company is genuine: if you don’t see them, avoid! Be aware that scammers can pretend to be legitimate companies so you should also carry out further research yourself.
Affected by fraud? Contact Action Fraud
Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime where you should report crime if you have been scammed, defrauded or experienced cybercrime.
Anti-fraud charities
TakeFive is a national campaign offering straight-forward, impartial advice that helps prevent email, phone-based and online fraud - particularly where criminals impersonate trusted organisations.