For Immediate Release
(Newswire.net — 29 July, 2013) Chinatown, Singapore — Illegal moneylenders in Singapore are getting increasingly bold with their scam tactics over the past few years. Due to recent advertising restrictions placed for licensed loan companies, mass text messages was used by illegal money lenders as an alternative to attract potential borrowers. Singaporeans who are not aware of the advertising restrictions are in higher risk of falling to such scams. Ms Sim, is an innocent victim who happened to reply to such text messages to reject the offer and received threats in return.
With such money lenders in the personal loan industry, Singaporeans held a negative bias against money lenders in the personal loan industry, irregardless of whether they are legal moneylenders. Mr Yusof, a resident in Tampines said, “It is very disturbing to receive messages from these moneylenders. The worst part is that you can’t unsubscribe from such “service”. You will only get nothing but trouble.”
101 Credit, a personal loan company, provides advice to Singaporeans on ways to prevent falling to such money lending scams. In a recent interview, Mr Lim from 101 Credit provided useful tips on scam prevention, “It is important to safeguard yourself against money scammers with the increasing scammers in Singapore today. Money lenders are not allowed to advertise on social media and ask for your SingPass account details. Thus, when someone claims to be a legal moneylender and ask for such confidential informaton, it is a scam.”
“Before you apply for a personal loan with the loan company, it is advisable to check the list of licensed money lenders in Singapore that is regularly updated with the company names, licensed numbers and registered address. Licensed loan companies will never grant a personal loan without the necessary documentation and issuance of note of contract.” added Mr Lim from 101 Credit.
An approximate number of 180 Singaporeans have fallen for such personal loan scams. To eliminate such fraud organisations and prevent more harm to other Singaporeans, any unlicensed moneylenders should be reported to the relevant authorities immediately.