How to Identify Scammer Websites Related To Borrowing

• Defining Scammer Website
• Additionally, they can practice the following:
• The First Glance at Any Website Advertising Loans: Things to Watch Out For
• Effective Ways to Check Any Loan Advertising Website
• What Can Be Done If You Entered Data on a Scammer Site

Nowadays, in the pursuit of profit, quite a large number of websites pretend to be something they are not. In 2023 there have been identified more than 3 million of such sites. And websites whose main purpose is to provide online loans are no exception. Quite often they pretend to be direct lenders, but in reality it is not so. As a result, disappointed users of the site can face with the transfer of data to third parties, hidden costs and many other unpleasant things. Fortunately there is always a way out of almost any situation. Today we will teach you how to recognize such unscrupulous sites and not fall into this trap.

Defining Scammer Website

This is the type of site that was created not with the purpose of benefiting its user but the opposite. Pretending to be an ordinary site offering a service, in our case lending, fraudsters can get the following information from you:

• account passwords;
• payment details;
• personal information to steal your identity.

Additionally, they can practice the following:

• infection of user’s device with malware;
• forcing the user to buy a product which doesn’t exist;
• a user can be offered a super loan but in reality it will be only one more attempt to receive more money;
• user’s name and address could be used to facilitate fraudulent transactions online, for instance, making purchases with stolen credit card information or engaging in other forms of financial fraud.

The First Glance at Any Website Advertising Loans: Things to Watch Out For

• too much information and stories of grand bargains without any scrupulous details and confirmation;
• you may receive a phishing email claiming that your bank account has been hacked and that you must click on a link and enter your password and bank information to protect your account;
• the presence of a fake online support service whose main task is to gain access to your computer remotely and as a consequence to all your data;
• many pop-up windows when viewing information on a website. They may be malicious. When they are installed on your computer, they can access your data;
• you may be asked to install an app, but it can infect your device and allow fraudsters to access your data.

Effective Ways to Check Any Loan Advertising Website

It is often difficult enough to determine whether the website you are looking at is real or not. Fortunately there are a number of ways to help you realize who you’re dealing with. Even an inexperienced internet user can do it.

Check the SSL certificate

This is the simplest check you can perform if a web resource seems suspicious.

• look at the presence of SSL-certificate – whether there is a cherished letter “s” after http or not;
• pay attention to the images of the “lock” in the address bar, whether it is there;
• click on the “lock” to find out the details of the certificate:

It is important to check the type of certificate. If you see an OV or EV certificate, it is a 99.999% guarantee that you are looking at the original site. This will also prove that the organization listed in the details for which the certificate was issued is not a fake.

Look at the domain name

• in an attempt to confuse users, attackers often replace letters with symbols –for example, the number “1” instead of the letter “I”: ONL1NE , not ONLINE;
• the name of the clone site can be as close as possible to the real spelling of the brand, but have minor typos. For example, consumerfinanse.gov instead of consumerfinance.gov;
• the domain may be spelled correctly, but use a different alphabet. In this case, the letters in the address bar look like Latin, but in fact the name of the site is typed in the alphabet of another language. Detecting such a fake is the hardest.

Find out who owns the site

• look at when the domain was registered. If you find yourself on the resource of a major brand with a long history, there is a high probability that it is a safe site. Use the Wayback Machine to check it.

Look for errors

• if the site has too many grammatical errors, images with low resolution, generally outdated design or too much advertising, then, most likely, you are on a copy site.
• look through a few product pages for errors, check the correct spelling of the organization’s name. You should also pay attention to a messed up layout and improper use of colors in the design.

Check the payment forms

• look at the presence of links on the page. If clicking on them takes you to pages that are not similar to the original site, then you have fallen into the clutches of scammers. Just close the tab and never enter personal data into the payment form.

Find user agreements

• check whether the site has a user agreement, payment and money transfer terms as well as personal data processing policies. Here it is important to check not only their presence, but also the text itself. The user agreement should not include third-party companies that are not related to the site.
• it is also worth checking contact numbers and publicly posted details of the company (address, company name). Did not find any of this? Immediately close the site.

Ask Google

Google has developed a tool for checking websites. It is enough to enter the website address into the form and you will receive information about the security of the resource. With Safe Browsing, billions of URLs are checked every day and thousands of malicious websites are found, many of which were not created by malicious users but were hacked. For these sites, Google displays warnings in search results or in the browser to protect users.

Read the reviews

Check reviews about the online loan service on the Web or in social networks, especially if the company positions itself as a major player in the market. Use Reddit, for instance.

Use the experience of your nearest and dearest

It is likely that someone you know close to you or a coworker has already resorted to online loans. Ask them who they would recommend to you.  If they liked it and the site was genuine, then feel free to seek financial help from them.

What Can Be Done If You Entered Data on a Scammer Site

• change the passwords you have managed to enter.
• contact the bank’s support service to block financial transactions on your account. This is worth doing if you have entered bank card details.

Summary

Alison Bennett

Alison Bennett is a licensed Loan Officer working in pdl247 for over 3 years.

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In the search for the perfect lender and in the hope of getting the coveted loan approval, we often let our guard down. We urge you to be careful. All the ways mentioned in this article really work. Unfortunately, scammers learn over time how to get around some of the points. We strongly recommend relying on a combination of these items rather than just one. If you have the slightest doubt, do not use the site.