Deborah Siehl
10-09-2003, 11:59 AM
Credit 0000 Solicits Payment On Nonloan
By Patricia Sabatini, Post-Gazette.com - October 3, 2003
PHILADELPHIA , PA -- A new twist on an old 0000 offering hassle-free loans to people with credit problems is making the rounds in Pennsylvania.
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is warning consumers to watch out for ads in local newspapers from bogus credit unions offering home equity, auto, personal and debt consolidation loans to people with poor credit if they send in an application fee or other advance payment. The ads have popped up recently in newspapers in Pennsylvania and at least six other states. One ad, from a fake company called First Rate Credit Union, appeared this past Sunday in the Tribune-Review. Other ads have used the name Century Credit Union. The solicitations are "a ploy to have victims make an advance payment for a non-existent loan," according to the NCUA, the regulator for federally insured credit unions.
The ads tell people to call a toll-free number for a free consultation. Callers are then asked to wire an advance payment through Western Union . They also receive what appears to be a legitimate loan application that requires personal and financial information. "This information may be the basis for further fraud, including identity theft," the NCUA said. The NCUA is cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the matter. The same 0000 also is being conducted on the Internet. In some cases, the perpetrators copy a legitimate credit union's Web site and substitute false phone numbers in the place of the credit union's real number. Or they set up their own site using names and addresses similar to legitimate credit unions.
00000 targeting consumers with poor credit histories aren't new. "We have consumers daily [with bad credit] who think they are applying for a credit card and send in $200 and don't get the card," said Barbara Petit, spokeswoman with the state Attorney General's office. The bogus credit union ads list a New York address, which should be a red flag to Pennsylvania consumers, said Diane Power, spokeswoman with the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association. "Credit unions have fields of membership and generally only advertise in the immediate area where the membership would be," she said.
"There are a few out-of-state credit unions that may do advertising, but they have branch offices in the state." The NCUA is asking credit unions to review local newspapers and report suspicious looking ads, and to conduct regular Internet searches for fraudulent Web sites using names similar to their credit union. Consumers can report problems or suspicious looking ads by calling the NCUA hotline at 1-800-827-9650 or the state banking department at 1-800-722-2657
By Patricia Sabatini, Post-Gazette.com - October 3, 2003
PHILADELPHIA , PA -- A new twist on an old 0000 offering hassle-free loans to people with credit problems is making the rounds in Pennsylvania.
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is warning consumers to watch out for ads in local newspapers from bogus credit unions offering home equity, auto, personal and debt consolidation loans to people with poor credit if they send in an application fee or other advance payment. The ads have popped up recently in newspapers in Pennsylvania and at least six other states. One ad, from a fake company called First Rate Credit Union, appeared this past Sunday in the Tribune-Review. Other ads have used the name Century Credit Union. The solicitations are "a ploy to have victims make an advance payment for a non-existent loan," according to the NCUA, the regulator for federally insured credit unions.
The ads tell people to call a toll-free number for a free consultation. Callers are then asked to wire an advance payment through Western Union . They also receive what appears to be a legitimate loan application that requires personal and financial information. "This information may be the basis for further fraud, including identity theft," the NCUA said. The NCUA is cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the matter. The same 0000 also is being conducted on the Internet. In some cases, the perpetrators copy a legitimate credit union's Web site and substitute false phone numbers in the place of the credit union's real number. Or they set up their own site using names and addresses similar to legitimate credit unions.
00000 targeting consumers with poor credit histories aren't new. "We have consumers daily [with bad credit] who think they are applying for a credit card and send in $200 and don't get the card," said Barbara Petit, spokeswoman with the state Attorney General's office. The bogus credit union ads list a New York address, which should be a red flag to Pennsylvania consumers, said Diane Power, spokeswoman with the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association. "Credit unions have fields of membership and generally only advertise in the immediate area where the membership would be," she said.
"There are a few out-of-state credit unions that may do advertising, but they have branch offices in the state." The NCUA is asking credit unions to review local newspapers and report suspicious looking ads, and to conduct regular Internet searches for fraudulent Web sites using names similar to their credit union. Consumers can report problems or suspicious looking ads by calling the NCUA hotline at 1-800-827-9650 or the state banking department at 1-800-722-2657