What does it look like?
We've written this story to show you how scammers trick people. It describes common tactics we know scammers use, based on insights from our fraud and scams team.
The extra fee scam
Hassan drove to work every day, so when his car broke down and he didn't have enough money to pay for repairs, he needed a loan quickly.
He found a great loan deal online – he hadn't heard of the company before, but the rate was very low and it looked like the money would come quickly. He applied, and waited for confirmation.
Shortly after he submitted the application, Hassan got a phone call from the company. They explained that to secure the loan rate, he needed to pay a fee. He really needed the money, and didn’t want to miss the chance to get such a good rate, so he paid.
Hassan never received confirmation of his loan, and the money never came into his account. When he tried to contact the company there was no reply.
What's the scam?
The loan didn’t exist – the deal was fake. Hassan thought he was paying a fee to secure a good deal, but he was sending money to a scammer who took his money and disappeared.
