A recent poll showed that most Canadians fear debt almost as much as they fear debt. In fact, 43% reported losing sleep over their finances including being in debt, not having enough savings, and planning for retirement.
While it’s normal to feel scared, unfortunately, fear sometimes causes people to overlook glaring red flags when making a financial decision. It can often lead to ordinarily smart people getting scammed.
And Canadians lost almost $100 million dollars in 2018 due to scams. Some of those scams had to do with loans. One of which involves scammers only providing loans after they’ve received an upfront payment.
We want you to get the financial help you need and deserve. Keep reading how to find safe online payday loans and seven signs you’re being scammed.
How to Find Safe Online Payday Loans
The best way to avoid being scammed is to do your research to find offline or online payday loans that are safe. If you do need a loan, ask a friend or family member to recommend a lender.
Many lenders have well-established brand names. That’s a good sign you can trust them.
Don’t Trust Loan Companies that Contact You
It’s also important for you to find them. Many predators use either the postal mail and/or emails to target unsuspecting people.
You should also be wary of unsolicited phone calls. If you don’t recognize the number or it’s a blocked number, let it go to voicemail. Thanks to technology it’s now possible for anyone anywhere in the world to obtain a phone number that looks like it’s local.
If you do suspect you’ve been scammed, contact the Office of Consumer Affairs to report it. You can also use that site to find out what the local payday loan rules and regulations are in your province or territory.
Signs You’re Being Scammed
1. The Lending Company Offers Guaranteed Loans for Bad Credit
You may still be able to get a loan approved even if you do have bad credit. But that doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to get one.
There are no guarantees in lending. Anyone who promises you otherwise is usually trying to scam you.
2. The Lending Company Isn’t Registered
All payday lenders need to be licensed where they do business. Check the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services‘ website to see if they are a legitimate company.
Click on “Search for any of the following license, registration, or appointment types” then select “lender/loan” from under “license/registration/appointment type”
If you’d like a list of all licensed payday lenders in the area, leave the form blank.
3. Promising Instant Approvals
Patience is a virtue and in this case, it will help you from getting scammed. Payday loans that are safe can also take less than a day.
You may even receive your money the same day as you’re approved by a legitimate company. But any company claiming they can approve you instantly is scamming you.
Legitimate payday loan companies need to look at your documents to ensure you’re a good risk for them to take. While it might not take long, it won’t be instantaneous.
4. Not Requiring You to Have a Bank Account
Safe payday loans want to get paid back. The way they ensure they receive payment on time is by making sure you have a valid bank account before lending you money.
The only reason any company would offer to lend you money without you providing proof you have a checking account would be if they’re trying to get you to reveal personal information.
Information to Keep Safe
That information such as your:
- Social Insurance Number
- Birthday
- Home address
With that information, any thief can open up bank accounts and credit cards in your name.
5. They Don’t Have a Physical Address
While there are plenty of safe payday loans online, they should still have a physical address somewhere. Stay safe by using Google Maps to find out the physical address of the payday loan company.
You should also stay away from lenders who only have a PO box address or claims there is no physical office.
6. Misspellings, Capitalization and Grammar
While everyone makes a spelling or grammatical mistake from time to time, if you receive something via physical mail or email that’s riddled with spelling, capitalization or grammatical errors, it’s a red flag.
Especially if you don’t recall ever asking for information to be sent to you. If you’re not a good speller yourself, you can always use a site like Hemingwayapp to locate errors for you.
Many scammers don’t live in Canada and English isn’t their native language. Instead, they count on people being in too much of a hurry to resolve their financial woes to notice the red flags.
7. Making Offers No Other Lending Company Would Agree to
Online payday loans that are safe will not offer you a flexible loan. Instead, they’ll ask you to write a post-dated check or provide them with your checking account information in order to debit your account on the agreed-upon date.
There is no flexibility in the process except how much in fees and interest they plan to charge you. And because the interest rates and fees depend on what each payday loan company sets for itself, it’s impossible to calculate and offer a lower rate than their competition.
Be Smart
Do not fall for the lowest rate or flexible rate offer.
The bottom line is that if you want to find safe online payday loans, remember that if it seems to good to be true, it probably is. Use common sense and do some research.
Work With Us to Get Your Payday Loan
While we won’t offer you instant approval, we can give you safe online payday loans the same day as long as you are approved by 2:30 pm. The process is easy and won’t take long.
And we’d love to help you get started. Click here to start your approval process today.
