Feb 22, 2008 11:48 pm US/Eastern
Beware Of Internet Based Loan Scams
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Rose Ambrosio didn't realize she was being taken for a ride until the so-called company she was dealing with asked her for money for a second time.
CBS
With the U.S. economy teetering on the edge of a recession and Florida being one of highest states for foreclosures, more of our neighbors are having trouble paying their bills, so many are looking for loans.
But in an I-Team investigation, CBS4 consumer investigator Al Sunshine warns an old loan scam is making a big comeback.
Rose Ambrosio was one of those people who has been running out of money and her bills have been piling up .
"It's been very tight. my husband is ill, and we barely make the rent. I needed a loan ," said Ambrosio. " I went online, and filled out a form online and a company called Prime Plus Solutions, one of their representatives called me. They discussed some loan possibilities .
Ambrosio figured she needed about $20,000 to get out of doubt. She filled out the company's paperwork and sent it back to their Michigan headquarters and hoped for the best. A few days later she got the "good news" she was approved for the loan , b ut there was a catch . "They told me because of my bad credit. They would be happy to provide me a loan for $20,000 for my bad credit I'd be required to pay $1,250 to secure the loan," said Ambrosio. Desperate for the loan, she sent the company the application fee. " They were very specific ," explained Ambrosio. " They asked for a money gram." But Rose thought it was strange that the business advertised its address in Allen Park, Michigan but asked her to send the payment to Canada. A few days later she became even more suspicious when she got another call from them. "They said the lender decided he wanted another $1,250 before he'd send out the loan ," Ambrosio explained. "I told them that I did not want that, that if I knew ahead of time they were going to want $2500, I would never have done it." Ambrosio said she believes someone just ran away with her money. "Took it and gave no regard to what I was going through." Economic crimes expert Timothy Delaney, a Miami FBI supervisor, said sophisticated internet-based scams are definitely on the rise. "It's virtually impossible for a consumer to detect the true underlying company they're doing business with. We've seen an increase in referrals, we've seen an increase in cases opened, we've seen an increase in complaints and allegations," said Delaney. Last year, U.S. consumers say they lost some $93 million to cross-border scams based out of Canada. And so-called advance fee loan scams are now the 4th most active scam according to the Federal Trade Commission. "It is a problem. Much of the scams on the telephones and on the internet does come from outside the United States," said Delaney. So how can you avoid becoming the next victim? Financial insiders like Dade Credit Union boss George Joseph has advice to avoid becoming a victim.
"Know who you're dealing with ," said Joseph."Any financial institution that's charging you an application fee up front .just pull the plug on it and start over," said Joseph. Ambrosio said she'd like to start over but her financial problems got worse when she was laid off from her job. " This completely destroyed us. We were late with the rent. We were very lucky the landlady was patient with us. We're just living day to day and doing the best we can," explained Ambrosio. Ambrosio has filed complaints against the company with both the FBI and Canadian authorities. She said the company's Michigan address is an abandoned warehouse and no one answers the phone anymore. For more tips on how to avoid the latest hi-tech loan scams on the internet, check out the following links: ScamBusters Looks Too Good To Be True.com OnGuard Online Federal Trade Commission
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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