Loan Union Financial: Scam Alert

A new loan scammer appeared on the horizon today. Our victim reports that they asked for an "insurance payment" of $540 for a $5,000. Luckily, she saw one of our posts about loan scams and stopped before sending them any money:

Does anyone know about a company called Loan Union Financial? They said the web address is www.loanunion.net. They claimed to be associated with intel insurance company and need money for the insurance company to secure a personal loan.

Their phone number is 1-800-847-4307 and they asked for collateral in the form of a home completely paid off, a vehicle paid off 4 years or newer, or a payment of $540 to the insurance company to insure my loan of $5,000.  I tried searching the Better Business Bureau and could not find the company listed.  I admit I have bad credit, but do not want to lose money.

Here are the loan scammer details:

Fake lender name: Loan Union Financial or LoanUnion.net
Fake lender website: www.loanunion.net
Fake insurance company name: Intel Insurance Company
Fake lender phone number: 1-800-847-4307
Fake loan offer: $540 insurance payment for a $5,000 personal loan.

If you think you might be dealing with a loan scam, send us an email or post a comment below BEFORE you send any money. We'll help you identifiy if the lender is legitimate and can warn others if it does turn out to be a scam.

Emily Peters – Credit.com's personal finance expert and former TransUnion credit bureau insider. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com editor.

Comments

[jim]

loan union is also involved with hillsdale financial group and anotherone is called westbrook lending

[Ann]

This is a very larg scam!! I was contacted by a rep from this company and i was a victim to this scam. WHAT EVER YOU DO DO NOT ..I REPEAT DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY INFORMATION!! They will promise you that this legitimate and that it is not a scam!!

[Linda Howard-king]

I wanted to check to see if these two companies are for real or are scam artist.

Thanks so much for your help.

[Linda Howard-king]

I want to check and see if this company is legitimate or not. I don't want to loose any money. Just can't afford to.

[d l]

they are also under metro wide lending group

[Isaac]

They are a scam... its clear there are soo many questions surrounding their legitimacy that they can't be real...

[Bear and Terry]

They wanted $800 upfront for a $5000 loan, sounded to good to be true so we started researching and found this website,,Thank you for saving us from a huge mistake!!!

[ELIZABETH]

HAS ANYONE EVER HEARD OF US CREDIT LENDERS?

[Marge]

Yes, I was contacted as well. they asked for over $800 to secure my $5000 loan. I asked if they were listed with the BBB and he said that the BBB requires a $20000 membership fee and they simply cannot afford it. i got really suspicious and I checked them out and they are listed under loanunion and they have numerous complaints...SCAMERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do not fall for it!

[Tony]

I went to loan union.net then someone from Silverfield financial group contacted me about a 25,000 dollar loan which required a 2500 dollar deposit to secure I did not bite, it sounds good, a little to good,sounds like the same scam. I was given this number 800-627-6189 and this web address www.silverfieldfinancial.com please check it out thanks Tony

[Courtney]

I got a call from silverfield financial group...$881.41 payment for a $5000.00 loan...sounds fishy, is it a scam??

[Credit.com]

Yep! That is a scam. Do not send them any money.

[Courtney]

Thanks a million!!

[Erika G.]

I found loanunion.net searching the net for personal loans. The site looked totally legitimate, so I proceeded to fill out the app. I received a call this evening from an unknown number, I don't answer unknowns. The caller did leave a voice mail, so I listened to a "Mike Watts" who claimed to be from "Weston (or Westin or Westend) Lending Group". His message proceeded to tell me how I had applied for a personal loan for $5000.00 and was approved. Times are hard right now so you can imagine my glee. I quickly returned the call to a 1-866-416-7276 ext. 176. I introduced myself to "Mr. Watts" who then proceeded to put me on hold 2 or 3 times. He then went on to tell me I was approved for a “secured” loan and the terms and that all I needed to do was send them $800.00 which was how I could “secure” the loan and that would equal 5 months of payments, so my first payment wouldn't be due until Jan 2010. I was skeptical initially when he said I got the loan at 7%! I don't have the best credit, that was hard to believe. I then asked if they'd send me paper work or what. He answered oh yes, I can fax you all the paperwork (loan documents) via fax tomorrow. I work for an attorney and am fully aware of scams. I discussed the situation with my husband who was immediately skeptical. Which led me here. Thank god! I feel for the people who have followed through with the terms and are left hanging. I thank everyone who posted their run in with this place!

[Stacey]

I applied for a loan with loanunion.com and a rep. from silverfield called and left me a message to call 800-672-6189 ext. 347. James said that I was approved. I looked at their website and too tried to find them with the BBB. I remember reading an article stating that if any lender asks for money - then they are a scam. I then found this... I have poor credit due to past poor credit choices and am trying to rebuild credit. Thank goodness I didn't bite.

[Emily]

I also got called by Silverfield Financial and the same set up was what I expirienced. 1800-627-6189 some man by the name of Robert Kerrie ext 613 from NY. Offerd me a loan for 10,000 dollars however I had to pay my first 4 payments and didnt have to pay nothing till november. I KNEW THEN IT WASNT TRUE SO PLEASE DONT FALL FOR IT.

[Wanda]

Just received a call from Loan Union saying I was approved for a $5000.00 loan. The 7% loan rate was too good to be true. Plus the request was for (6 pymts of $155 up front. If I could afford to pay $930 before hand then I don't need a loan. Plus the application did not request enough identifying info (SS#, bank info. etc)
DEFINITELY A SCAM!! Watch out for Western Lending Group!!

[Nicole]

I am trying to find out what is going on with this weston lending group. I looked on the bbb site and there are on there as having been in business since 1990. Same address and phone number. I spoke with a jamie grant there at ex.619. He told my husband that we where approved for a 5000.00 loan but had to put down a deposit that would be applied to my loan. They said that they needed collateral because of our credit. That it was not a fee that it would go to paying off the loan and that we would not have any payments until january 2010. BBB said they where investigating them not because they received calls about people not receiving there money but from people inquiring about the business because they where asking for money up front. I dont know what to do. I was going to borrow the money from my sister in law and pay her back because me and my husband really need the money but dont want to be screwed out of $775 and then have to find a way to pay my sister back. Someone please help. I wish there was someone that could go there and see if they really are located where they say they are and they are legite.

[Credit.com]

Nicole - don't do it. These unethical people are preying on consumers that are so desperate for money that they find any way they can to scrape up money upfront in the hopes that they'll get a quick loan. They'll take your money and run! You can read a ton of horror stories in the credit.com loan scam forum and it's heart wrenching. If they want money upfront, something's fishy.

[Felicity]

I went to www.loanunion.net and I have had several calls from an unknown number and no messages have been left. I am glad I found this site.

[Michelle]

I was contacted on 6/19/09 from Scott Granger (800-627-6189 ext 519). They would be more than happy to lend $15,000 at a rate of 7%. Just need a security deposit of $1849.88. Of course the BBB and reverse phone look up will not come up with anything. However, I intend to report them. People who really need money should not have to loose more money. These are the people who should not be victimized.

[Michelle]

Beware of Silverfield Financial!!!!

[Kuba]

Thank goodness I found this site before I went to a money gram today. Get this I applied online for an 8000 personal loan and I have bad to horrible credit. This guy named BRADLEY MOORE, had left me a message saying that he great news that I can secure my loan with a 1230.00 down payment up front which is 5 months of payments and have the money wired to Canada to a different person named Sharon Barot. He also tells me to verify the receipt with him once I get it. So this raised a red flag with me. So I did my own investigation and called there customer service. What a surprise it was the same guy with a different name. He didn't great himself like before. I ask for his name and he gave me Paul. No doubt it was the same guy as Bradly Moore. I asked for a mailing address and he gave me the same one on the fax coversheet. I confronted him that the addres does not exist on mapquest's website. He says he's been doing business for 19 years. I asked for the website as well and he gave me "WestonLending.net" I later found this website and compared "WestonLending.net" and "Loanunion.net" to my surprise it was the same format with the same FAQ page. Here's the info I have on this scam: phone#: 1-888-416-7276 ext 561 fax: 1-314-334-0983 address: 13610 Barrett Office Drive Saint Louis, MO 63121 account rep: Bradly Moore. The address doesn't exist in mapquest; same guy answered as the customer service rep. SCAM! I even tried about 80 different extensions. These people are praying on good people like you an I, we work hard to make ends meet. There has to be a way to stop this and put these people in jail. What can we DO?

[Laura]

I just spoke to a David Penn (1-800-672-6189 ext439) from Silverfield financial,who said I was fully approved for $10,000 at a rate of 6.7% and needed a security depoist of $1673.00. So I looked them up right now to find out they are a scam, before I lost my money to move into my apartment tomorrow, which was all the money I had.

[Kuba]

Watch out for Weston Lending Group....SCAM!