Loan fee fraud is when someone who is looking for a loan is asked to pay an upfront fee before receiving it. They pay the fee, but they never get the loan. If you apply for a loan and are asked for an upfront fee, think twice as this could be a scam.
This cost of living crisis is exerting more pressure than ever on people’s finances, with 55%1 of UK adults more worried about money this year than last year. This is pushing people into borrowing more money than they did this time last year, with searches for instant loans up 250% in the last year.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found that during the Summer, this spike in loans means that more people have fallen victim to Loan Fee Fraud, with the fraud increasing by 26% in the Summer months.
As a result, the FCA are relaunching their campaign to protect people from loan fee fraud and, as a credit union, Wave Community Bank is doing all we can to share this important message.
The aim is to explain what loan fee fraud is and the steps that people need to take to protect themselves from it.
We will be sharing this important message over our social media networks, in member communications, with Employer Partners and other stakeholders. If you know of anyone that is susceptible to this type of fraud please help them by making them more aware.
