A recorded-voice relaying the message “Thank you for calling. Good-bye” is the last word two area residents heard from a fraudulent loan company after each sent more than $1,000 in fees in attempts to secure personal loans.
What those residents responded to was an advertisement that appeared in recent editions of Your TIMES that turned out to be bogus claims. The fraudulent advertisement, which promised fast cash and that no loan application would be refused, impersonated a legitimate lender, Wells Fargo, and “guaranteed” that people would get the money they needed.
One of the victims in the county who came forward, and wished to remain anonymous, said the scammers had an answer to every question he had.
“They had done their homework,” he said.
He said he saw the ad in the paper, called the toll-free number, and answered a series of questions in order to secure the loan. He said the company called him the next day and told him he had been approved for a $10,000 secured loan, and since it was secured he had to first pay $1,500. After telling the company $1,500 was too high, the company dropped the fee to $1,200.
He said he was leery of the offer, but all the information that was faxed to him was done on Wells Fargo letterhead and he thought it was legitimate.