Online Personal Loan Scams

You get a call, an email, or a text offering you a personal loan. The offer sounds too good to pass up and you are pressured to act immediately. The scammer may offer guaranteed approval with no credit check or tell you if you have bad credit, no problem.

But here’s what happens next: The scammer asks for your Member Access information to deposit your loan proceeds into your account using mobile check deposits. Then, the scammer asks you to use those funds to buy gift cards and provide the gift card numbers or send the funds via a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) app (for example CashApp, PayPal, or Venmo). They tell you this will help build your credit and qualify you for additional lending. What you don’t realize is that the checks are fraudulent, will later be returned to you, and you will likely end up owing the returned check amounts to the credit union.

• If you need a loan, do your research. No reputable lender will promise loan approval without assessing your creditworthiness. A legitimate lender will review your credit history and your income to make sure you can afford the loan.
• Legitimate lenders do not ask for payment before loan proceeds are received. If you come across a lender that makes this demand, just walk away.
• Never share your Member Access information with anyone. Your user ID and password are confidential and should never be shared or written down.
• Share this information with a friend. You may know someone who needs a reminder.