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| The supposed loan agreement is littered with grammatical errors with fake guarantee seals |
Never engage with people who offer you instant loans through text or social media messaging.
This was the painful lesson learned by a Filipina
domestic helper recently, when she was forced to send HK$1,200 to someone who contacted
her using a Singapore number (+65 81915022) and
offered her a quick loan at low interest.
But the offer came with a twist: instead of her receiving the promised loan of HK$10,000 she was supposed to pay HK$1,200 upfront, to cover a supposed trial loan of HK$280, plus her first monthly installment of HK$920.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Anne (not her real name) said she was forced to send
the money to the Alipay account given (+852 92431867 ) as she had by then given all
her personal details to the unknown person, including her employer’s name and
contact number.
When she tried to get the loan cancelled, Anne was told it was not possible,
as the terms of the loan agreement were clearly stated in the loan agreement
sent her.
“You should
be read properly yourself your approval letter (sic),” said the loan recruiter.
A close look at the supposed loan agreement sent her showed it was obviously fake. The logo of I-Credit (Singapore) was used on top but underneath, the Hong Kong Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and Active Finance, a licensed money lender in the Philippines, supposedly gave it a seal of approval.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
There were other
telltale signs of forgery, including a smattering of wrong grammar and misspellings
in the document. But Anne’s name, phone number, Alipay account and home address
were typed in clearly, an ominous sign that she could be tracked anytime.
Still, the
other person on the line said in broken English that Anne would not find a
money lender that would allow a loan agreement to be cancelled once the
approval letter is sent.
“We are not doing
a free job for you, here is not playground for fun with u (sic),” the text
said.
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| Screenshot of text messages from the loan broker |
Time and
again, various authorities have warned the public never to engage anyone who makes
a random phone call, or sends a text or email offering a pre-approved loan that
was not applied for.
The alarm
bells should sound even louder if the supposed loan recipient is asked to pay
money upfront for “processing” or whatever excuse might be given.
There are
other red flags: if a lender does not check on the borrower’s income, credit
history and capacity to pay; if the terms of the loan agreement including the
exact interest rate, fees and monthly payments are not stated clearly; if the
money lender is not authorized to operate legally in the place or country where
the borrower resides.
Anne’s case
was unfortunately, not a rare one. In a chat group formed by other victims of
the loan scam syndicate, another Filipina helper said she had become so unnerved
by the threats coming from the loan broker that she decided to just terminate
her contract and go back home.
For Anne,
the scare is not yet over. She has tried to ask for help at the Wong Tai Sin
police station, but was told that since the fraud was committed online by a
person or group operating from Singapore it would be difficult to go after them
at this stage.
As the group
she has lost money to already knows how to reach her employer, she is afraid her
harassment could escalate.
