Staff Reporter
THE Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority, (NAMFISA) is warning the public against fraudulent attempts targeting borrowers of microloans.
Namfisa has observed attempts targeting by fraudsters enticing members of the public to sign up for what appears to be non-repayable microloans.
Namfisa explained that these fraudsters/scammers engage in unsuspecting victims via short message services (SMS), email or phone, and inform the unsuspecting person to apply for a loan at a specific microlender.
The scammers further inform the unsuspecting person that once a loan is disbursed, someone trustworthy in the employment of the said microlender will permanently delete the record of such a loan from the microlenders system so that the supposed borrower will not need to repay the loan.
“Fraudsters indicate to the unsuspecting person, since the record of loan will be permanently deleted from the microlenders system, that the loan amount must be shared on a 50/50 basis with the employee of the microlender who will delete the loan. Once the loan amount is disbursed, and paid to the victim’s bank account, the victim will be required to immediately share half of the loan amount with the fraudster or scammer. The microlender does not delete the loan from the lenders system, and since the loan was advanced under normal application channels, the money would have to be paid back to the microlender,” Namfisa explained.
The supervisory authority further stated that once the victim detects a withdrawal from their bank account by a microlender, they would try to confront the fraudster who in most cases would have disappeared at this stage.
Since the transaction was tainted with illegality from the start, and the victim has indeed applied for the loan, he/she will avoid confronting the microlender or police and will be left with the burden of repaying the loan for which he/she only used half of the mount.
Members of the public have however been advised to contact Namfisa on 061 290 5000 if they suspect any fraudulent activities regarding cash loans.
Picture for illustrative purposes only. Photo: Pexels
