When people are desperate, they become vulnerable to fraudsters who are after their hard-earned money. Have you fallen victim to credit scammers? Do you know how to protect yourself when confronted by fake credit providers?
28 September 2020 · Athenkosi Sawutana
When people are desperate, they become vulnerable to fraudsters who are after their hard-earned money. Have you fallen victim to credit scammers? Do you know how to protect yourself when confronted by fake credit providers?
JustMoney approached experts to find out how you can spot a credit scam and avoid being caught out.
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According to Carla Oberholzer, debt adviser at DebtSafe, you must pay attention to marketing descriptions. For instance, when you see words like, “Cost-effective loan in a short time frame,” “5% fixed interest rate, no credit review,” or, “From R20,000.00 to R10million,” or even a simple “Hi”, you must question the credibility of that credit provider.
“Remember: when a ‘credit deal’ sounds too good to be true, it usually is,” says Oberholzer.
Another red flag, says Oberholzer, are credit providers that ask for an “upfront fee”.
“A registered creditor is not allowed to ask an ‘upfront fee’, sometimes referred to in adverts as an initiation fee or admin fee,” she says.
According to Oberholzer, these types of fees should form part of the monthly payment amount of the loan.
According to the National Credit Regulator (NCR), you can avoid being a victim of credit scams by doing the following:
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If you have fallen for the scammers’ tricks, Oberholzer says you must notify the fraud division of your bank, registered credit bureaus, the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) and the complaints department at the NCR.
“In some cases, you may need to go to your nearest Police station (SAPS) to get an affidavit and report the fraud,” says Oberholzer.
Oberholzer urges consumers to be careful and stay alert.
“Doublecheck that the credit provider does not fit the warning criteria above, make sure that you really need the credit that you want to apply for (like a loan), and protect your hard-earned money in the process,” says Oberholzer.
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