For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Bob Cooper
(208) 334-4112
Date: December 13, 2005
Attorney General and Department Of Finance Director Encourage Caution When Applying for a Loan
(Boise) - Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and Department of Finance Director Gavin Gee urge Idahoans to use caution this holiday season in seeking loans from non-traditional lenders. Wasden and Gee said that many non-traditional loans are scams, involving large upfront fees for a loan the consumer never receives.
Typically, these lenders advertise in local and free newspapers. The advertisements generally appeal to consumers with poor credit histories, low credit scores, bankruptcies, and other impediments to qualifying for loans from traditional lenders.
“The Attorney General’s Office and the Idaho Department of Finance have received numerous complaints in recent years from consumers who lost money to unscrupulous and phony lenders, many located in Canada and other foreign countries,” Attorney General Wasden said. “Once a consumer sends money out of the United States, it is virtually impossible for our offices to trace or retrieve it.”
Idaho consumers have complained that they are told they qualify for a loan but are asked to wire or send money by courier to pay for “insurance” on the loan, “border taxes,” “security deposits,” or other advance fees. Often, a consumer tricked into paying once will be told to send more money for additional “fees.”
“These ‘advance fee loan’ offers are almost always empty promises,” Finance Director Gee said. “The complaints filed with our offices indicate that these loans are never funded.”
Attorney General Wasden and Finance Director Gee urge Idahoans to take these steps to protect against advance fee loan scams:
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