The March Group Alerts on Loan Scams

The current economic climate has made it difficult for businesses to obtain loans, either for growing their business or for keeping it operational on a day-to-day basis. Financial institutions are extra cautious in lending money at a time when the return is not guaranteed, since consumers hold tight to their income, with spending kept to a minimum.

This is just the kind of scenario scammers are prepared for. They see the economic downturn as an opportunity to take advantage of vulnerable situations and times like this. Thus, the incidence of loan scams.

Though not entirely new, businesses still fall for these scams out of desperation. They might receive an email, or a phone call saying they have been pre-approved for a credit line. This of course is welcome news to cash-strapped businesses looking for a means to strengthen the company with additional capital for product improvement, marketing and advertising efforts, or simply for keeping up-to-date with payments to suppliers, the bank, etc.

What business owners tend to overlook are some suspicious aspects of the offer, such as the strictly online-only correspondence and transaction; and the overseas location of the creditor such as Canada or Africa.

Moreover, some of these offers ask for an advance fee. These scammers ask that the advance fee be wire transferred to cover taxes and the cost of processing the application. Once money has been wired, these so-called creditors disappear from the scene – their website suddenly under construction or their domain pulling up an error message or cannot be found, and their contact number disconnected. The more scheming ones even let on for an extended period of time, asking money periodically from the business, fading from the scene when the victim starts realizing the trick.

As with any transaction, it always pays to be vigilant and discerning of what is offered to you. Loans typically do not have upfront fees that you have to pay for. Wiring money to an organization or person you don’t know is also a big no, since there’s no way of canceling it when you need to. You should be skeptical too of disclosing personal information, such as your birthday, social security number, and financial details, on a website, particularly one that you are using for the first time. That information can be used for identity theft. And to alert the community at large about this scam, file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the Federal Trade Commission.

Avoid a scam today by subscribing to The March Group Scam Blog.

The March Group is a leading mergers and acquisitions advisory firm dedicated to the middle market.

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2008/sb20080414_093118.htm

Tainted Love: When Scam Poisons Online Romance

The March Group Scam Prevention Program acknowledges the internet’s capacity to connect everyone from any corner of the world has made it a medium for finding romance, too. Instant messaging with its free-for-all chat feature, and social networking sites, including dating sites have made the online world a more convenient, and imaginative place to “meet” people with common interests, that could eventually lead to romantic feelings.

But since this is the online world, anything goes. Identities can be easily assumed, personalities and traits can be adopted, and freely available pictures are there for any one to claim as their own. With deceit, scam activities would not be far behind.

Victims might think they have struck gold with love online, until they find out that they were purposefully struck instead for their gold.
Consider Des Gregor a cautionary tale of this kind. A South Australian farmer, Des traveled to the African nation of Mali to meet Natacha, a Liberian refugee he fell in love with online, and who was to be his bride. The 56-year old man was also expecting a dowry of $86,000.

When he arrived at the airport in Mali, he was picked up by men who claimed to be relatives of his bride-to-be. Only they turned out to be gangsters.

He was brought to a flat in Bamako, the capital city, where he was stripped naked and held at gunpoint. The men also threatened to chop off his limbs.

To free him, the men demanded a ransom of the dowry amount – $86,000.

Emails were sent to his relatives asking for money. Alarmed, the relatives coordinated with the Australian authorities and came up with a strategy to recover Des safely.

They convinced the kidnappers to let Des pick up the money at the Canadian embassy, where he was then rescued by the Australian Federal Police. He was held captive for 12 days.

Love may make fools out of men (and women), but if the internet is part of the equation, extra caution must be exercised.

All may be fair in love (and war), but a scam’s harmful intent always tips the scale of love into danger.

Avoid a scam today by subscribing to The March Group Scam Blog.

The March Group is a leading mergers and acquisitions advisory firm dedicated to the middle market.

http://www.internet-love-scams.org/forums/showthread.php?s=d6084e15b353e91290581dd24eba9077&t=14904

The March Group Learns about the Phone Text Scam

Mobile phones have evolved from being merely a communication device, to so much more – a music player, a photo and video gadget, an Internet device, and even a purchasing tool — with debit or credit card capabilities. Not surprisingly, The March Group Scam Blog has learned that mobile phones have become a tool for scammers, too.

It is common for mobile phone users to receive text messages congratulating them for winning the lottery or any other kind of contest. What’s amazing about this announcement is that the receiver knows nothing about joining the contest or buying a lottery ticket. The text might that it was sent by a well-known organization or business associated with the raffle or contest. The message usually asks the receiver to call the number and ask for a certain person to claim the prize.

Another kind of phone text scam involves receiving a message where the sender claims to be someone close to the recipient. It would say that the sender had been in an accident or trouble, and needs money to settle the bill in the hospital or bail out of jail somewhere.

Then there’s the call or text message from the service provider allegedly, asking the recipient to disclose personal information, such as full name, social security and/or tax number, sometimes even the credit card number either for records updating purposes or for a supposed survey they are conducting to identify the kind of subscribers they have.

Calls and text messages of these kinds are common scams used to commit identity theft, so be wary.

If you have supposedly won something, the organization or business should contact you directly and not ask you to do the opposite on the first message you receive. It should also inform you that you will receive an official telegram notifying that you have won.

For messages concerning loved ones in need of help, verify their identities especially if the number registering from their message or call does not much the number in your phonebook. Call relatives or mutual friends to inform them about the message you received; they might know where your loved one is by chance.

Be cautious about disclosing any of your personal information. Unless you are making changes to your account thereby necessitating answering questions for verification purposes, be suspicious otherwise. Your service provider should have your information in their system if they’re doing a survey, anyway.

Always maintain caution and vigilance in protecting your personal data to prevent being a scam victim.

Avoid a scam today by subscribing to The March Group Scam Blog.

The March Group is a leading mergers and acquisitions advisory firm dedicated to the middle market.