Dear Loan Con Men… Don’t call me!!

Some companies use legitimate bank names to pull these scams.One of the sad things about being broke is that you are more vulnerable to Con Men than people with money.  I can’t tell you how many calls I have gotten, asking if I would I like a $5,000 or $10,000 loan.  Or, they call me and tell me that my loan is approved.  Ok, first, you have to apply for a loan, to get a loan.  Second, no company is going to loan you thousands of dollars without knowing how you are going to pay them back.  If they are offering you money, it is because they know that you have it.  The newest scam is they tell you that you are approved, and then the “loan officer” tells you that you need to go to CVS, Rite Aid or some other convenience store and get a Moneypak.  They call it a payment verification form, yeah right.  Really what they are asking you to do is to put a percentage, usually 5% to 10% of the initial loan amount on the card, to prove that you will be able to make the monthly installments.  What???!!!   The only thing that proves is that I can scrape up a couple hundred dollars that does not prove to anyone that I can make monthly payments on a loan.  However, people fall for this, partly out of desperation.  Then, the con man takes the money and you are now a few hundred dollars poorer than you were.  My favorite is GE Money Bank.  I like that one because I have done business with the real GE Money Bank and they aren't calling to offer anyone a loan that does not have money.  And, since my credit and economic status has changed, I don’t hear from them.  (Well, I do hear from the bill collectors.)  Also, GE Money Bank does not exist anymore, they have a new name, Synchrony Bank , and the only reason that I know that is Synchrony calls me because owe them money.

 So, I am really surprised when John Smith (with a heavy Indian accent) calls me and says that he is from GE Money Bank and that he wants to give me $10,000.  Especially when I know that they are already sweating me for the $2,000 that I owe.  Wow, I could borrow money from them and pay my past due balance off at the same time.   Um..., I don’t think so, I wish it were true, but… no.  But the craziness continues, first, you can hear all of the people in the background talking and reading the same lines.  And, except for having an “American Name” these people have no grasp of Western culture.  For example, they take pity on you if you are a single woman and ask you what happened.  Could you see single/divorced women in the United States applying at banks today applying for loans having the loan officers sigh or give a there-there when they read their marital status?  Or, maybe the loan officer would say, “Single, and over 35.  Oh, cheer up, things will get better.”  (She might not get a loan, but she may get a lawsuit and a bank.)

But wait, there is more, if you don’t do what these men tell you to do, then they get condescending or they start yelling at you.  “Do you want a loan or not?”  “I am trying to help you!”  Hey there is nothing like a little abuse and male chauvinism thrown in with a good scam.  

Sometimes instead of calling you, they send emails.  My favorite email starts with “Hey, are lenders not loaning you money?  Well, we will because I am a baddass.”  Yes, it really says baddass.  You know what I am going to go Wells Fargo or Capital One and ask for the Baddass lender.  If it is a brick and mortar bank, I want the “B” to be capitalized.

Legal or Crooked!  Put Your Name Here !

I am having are hard time financially and I know that others are suffering too, but don’t fall for these jokers.  At least let’s make them come up with better scams, con artists who know their mark, or hire American Con Artists.  Large companies and Major Con Artists both hire callers overseas.  Damn!!  Must everybody be so lazy and cheap???!!