The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) warns the public against the activities of unauthorized lenders who offer false credit to consumers.
In recent months, the FSMA has detected 40 fraudulent lenders who offer false credit to Belgian consumers via the Internet. Consumers get in touch with these lenders in a variety of ways: they are approached unsolicited via email or social media (Facebook, WhatsApp, etc.), or they find advertisements on the internet.
However, in reality, these are false offers of credit made in order to wheedle money out of consumers. The providers are fraudsters pretending to be authorized lenders or credit intermediaries and they do not shy away from using the names and logos of legitimate financial service providers. These are cases of cloned firms.
These fraudsters offer consumers credit at very attractive conditions. For example, a lender claims to extend substantial loans at a low interest rate. The lender may also claim not to check whether the consumer is a poor payer and has taken out loans in the past that he/she was unable to repay.
If a consumer wishes to take up the offer, he/she is asked to make certain payments supposedly to cover costs relating to the credit (e.g. an insurance premium to protect the lender against the risk of the loan not being repaid, dossier fees, administrative costs, etc.). Those costs are, however, fictitious.
Once those so-called costs are paid, the lender disappears without a trace, making it nearly impossible to recover the amounts paid.
The FSMA thus advises absolutely against responding to such offers of credit.
Companies operating unlawfully and against which the FSMA warns the public are the following:
- Air Credit Pro (https://air-krediet.com/)
- BCCE Bank (https://www.bcce-bank.com)
- Bedrijf Financial (https://bedrijf-financial.com/)
- BKR Geld Bezorging (http://www.bkrgeldbezorging.com/)
- Chronys Services (www.chronys-services.fr)
- CJ-Finances (https://www.cj-finances.com/)
- Credipea (https://credipea.com/)
- Duty Financial Corp (https://dutyfinancialcorp.com/)
- Empayc Finance (cloned firm)
- EranFinance (https://royal-eranfinance.com/)
- Europe-Finance (https://europe-finance.net/)
- Fast Financial Bank (https://www.fastfinancialbnk.com/)
- Financ-Ed (cloned firm) (https://www.financedkrediet.com/)
- Financien Krediet (https://financien-krediet.nl/)
- Geld Sofort (https://www.geld-sofort.com/)
- Global Kreditering (https://globalkreditering.com/)
- GlobalService-krediet (https://globalservice-krediet.com/)
- Groupe Asux (https://www.groupe-asux.com/)
- Hoek Financien (www.hoekfinancien.com)
- Idealus Krediet Bank (https://idealus-krediet.com/)
- IFCR Services (https://ifcrservices.com/)
- Katel Finance (https://katel-finance.com)
- Krediet Prestito (https://krediet-prestito.com/)
- Kredinel (https://www.kredinel.com/)
- Legal Finance Global (www.legalfinancegloball.com)
- Lening Classic (www.lening-classic.com)
- Lening zonder voorwaarde (www.leningzondervoorwaarde.com)
- Multi Diensten (https://www.multi-diensten.com/)
- Mzava Finance (http://mzava-financial.com/)
- Nieuwlening (https://nieuwlening.com/)
- Nofico Bank (http://www.noficogroup.org/)
- Persoonlijk krediet (https://leningen-be.com/)
- RachWin (www.rachwin.com)
- Rexwin Financial (http://rexwin-financial.com/)
- SGL Investeerder (www.sgl-investeerder.com)
- Sofina Invest Groupe (https://sofina-invest-groupe.com/)
- SolisFunding (www.solisfunding.com)
- UnaKredo (www.unakredo.com)
- Unitec Global Finance LTD (https://ugf-ltd.com/)
- Zenicorn Corporate (http://zenicorncorporate.com/)
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The FSMA offers the following general recommendations for recognizing these fraudulent offers of credit:
- Be wary if (out of the blue) you receive an unsolicited credit offer via the internet or via social media.
- Beware of any offers of credit on unusually favourable terms (a loan that is very large in relation to the consumer’s financial situation, at an extremely low interest rate, with a particularly long repayment period, etc.) that would not usually be granted by authorized lenders.
- Be all the more suspicious if the lender asks that you first pay a sum of money intended to cover certain costs before issuing the loan. The justifications given for such a payment can vary: they may be called an insurance premium with a view to insuring the lender against default on the loan, dossier fees, authentication costs, administrative costs, etc. These costs are purely fictitious. Once the money has been paid, the ‘lender’ disappears and the victim never recovers the money transferred.
- Find out whether the lender has the requisite authorization. Via the search engine on the website of the FSMA, you can easily determine whether the person has the requisite authorization or registration. Persons without an authorization or registration may not offer you credit.
- Consider doing a search for the person using the customary search engines. You may find testimonials by people who have already been approached by him or her. But be alert, as sometimes these are falsely positive testimonials posted by the lenders themselves in order to gain the confidence of investors.
More than ever, then, prudence is necessary. In case of any doubt, and before making any (more) payments, don’t hesitate to contact the FSMA using the consumer contact form. As well, please feel free to notify it of any suspicious company that has not yet been the subject of a warning by the FSMA.
Source: FSMA
