Key Takeaways
- Personal loan scams involve false promises and offers that appear lucrative
- Personal loan lenders always check your credit score to determine the intended desperation. Low credit score = higher chances of being contacted
A personal loan refers to an amount of money you borrow for your personal use to fulfil your requirements, needs, and/or desires. It becomes quite handy when you require quick cash to deal with emergencies or other major events in life. Personal loans are offered by financial institutions, banks, credit unions, or online lenders. Compared to other kinds of loans, personal loans are relatively easier to apply for and get approval on.
Given its prominent use and easy sanction, personal loans are also one of the most common targets for fraudulent lenders who trap their customers in a loan scam. Personal loan frauds in India are pretty common as it is an unsecured loan and makes the work easier for the duper. Under the scam, scammers come to you with several false promises with no real intention of providing the money you need. The people involved in the scam try to lure you with special offers and discounts that might seem lucrative and appealing. However, it is best to not fall into this trap without proper consideration of all that is being promised or offered. Let’s take a look at some of these warning signs that are camouflaged to seem like great, once-in-a-while kind of offers.
No checking of credit score
No reputed bank or legitimate lender would refuse to check or let go of your credit history before lending you any money. They make it a point to thoroughly scrutinise your income tax returns, credit score, credit history, and previous loan payments. If you come across a lender who says that no credit score check is required and says they can approve your loan without checking your financial statements, you should immediately become wary of the lending party and pull yourself out the first chance you get.
Limited period offer
If you come across a great offer, discounted interest rates or other benefits that are available only for a limited period and the lender presses you to apply within a specific time period, in most cases, this is a loan scam. In cases where you are threatened with the offer expiring or having limited applications that are filling fast, you should be extra cautious of who you are dealing with. This is a common technique used in personal loan scams in India.
Direct contact by the lender
When the lender contacts you directly and tries to imply that you are being provided special attention and care as a customer, you should not get carried away and believe what he or she says. This is because it is highly unlikely that you would get unsolicited calls from lenders without having applied for a loan. You only get a call once you have applied for a loan and the lender is conducting a pre-screening before taking up your application. An unsolicited call would mostly be a personal loan scammer that you should be cautious of.
There are various other signs of a loan scam such as a lack of physical address, upfront fee payment request, etc. All of these are warning signs that act as red flags and should make you question the authenticity of the lender.
CAUTION–Beware of online fraudsters lurking around to steal your hard-earned savings. The moment you feel like giving in to those sweetened offers, pause and verify every detail at www.bajajfinserv.in or report it on our Experia portal or call us at 8698010101.
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