Fraud Alert: CentralGroupInc.com and CentralGroupAlliance.com
The underworld of nefarious financial criminals keeps on growing. We've identified a new loan scam online this week.
A site called CentralGroupAlliance.com or CentralGroupInc.com has stolen some of Credit.com's source code without authorization and has established an advanced fee loan operation. The company's lawyers are getting it shut down. In the meantime, we wanted to put out a warning to any potential victims out there.
CentralGroupAlliance.com is one of thousands of advanced fee loan scams operating across the country. With this scam, the so-called "lender" collects an application and goes through the motions of granting you a loan. During the process they ask you to send a downpayment or insurance payment via Western Union, usually to Canada. After you send the payment, you either never hear from them again or they continue asking you for more money.
There's no way to get your money back after it has been sent. And, unfortunately, very few places you can turn for help after you're a victim. The only thing you can do is to report your case to the anti-fraud agencies FTC and PhoneBusters in Canada.
If you think you might be dealing with a scam lender, here are some signs to watch out for:
- Any lender that asks you to wire transfer a payment is not legitimate. Don't send it.
- A site without any street address listed or contact information aside from an email form.
- An unsecured (not https) application online.
- A lender that emails you a contract as a word document or PDF.
- A website that has only been registered for a few weeks or months. You can get this information with a Whois.net look up.
- A site with no animated VeriSign seal at the bottom of the page.
Hopefully, this information can help prevent new victims of advanced fee loan scams from losing money. Stay safe out there, internet!
Update 6/4/08: CentralGroupAlliance.com has been shut down. CentralGroupInc.com is online and we received a report from a victim who lost $1,500 to the scam.
Emily Davidson – A former TransUnion insider and a member of Credit.com's expert team. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com editor.
Great work, Credit.com lawyers! The site has been removed.
Posted by: Nancy Castleman | May 30, 2008 at 08:16 AM