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Loan Scams: Sparta Loan Firm, Rev David Smith

Loan Scams:
Sparta Loan Firm,
Rev David Smith

Have you received an email or postal letter from Rev David Smith at Sparta Loan Firm offering you a debt consolidation loan, student loan, mortgage, small business loans or a great credit card rate? The rate is incredibly low, they say they need very little documentation and can get you money fast? It is a scam. The "Rev." title ought to be a clue (how many men of the cloth do you know that work as loan consultants? talk about selling your soul to the devil!

The offer and their websites (if they have one up; it is frequently taken down) may even look real, except they will quickly ask you for personal financial information, social security number, bank account numbers, in addition to your name, address, phone numbers, etc.

Also see this page on Scholarship, Student Loan and Financial Aid scams!

Actual scam email (One example - the scammers constantly change names, dates and addresses!):

From: LOAN FIRM <niagara.gallery@bellnet.ca>
Reply-To: revdavidsmithloancompany007@gmail.com
Organization: LOAN FIRM
To: <info@loan.org>
Subject: LOAN OFFER
Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2008 9:40:51 -0400

Greetings to you,

My name is Rev David smith, the GeneralConsultant of SPARTA LOAN FIRM.
Ihave been ordered by my directors to informthe general public that we
nowgive out loan at a very low interest rate. Therate is as low as 3%
yearly or0.2% monthly.

All you need do is to contact me via my email orphone; Please find
them below:

Name: Rev David smith
Email:revdavidsmithloancompany007@gmail.com
Tel: (+234) 802-o88-9394

Once I receive your request, we'll get back to you immediately with the
loan information.

Thanks for your time and understanding,

Rev David smith
General Consultant
SPARTA LOAN FIRM

Headers


Message-Id: <6k1gas$qlb1g@toip40-bus.srvr.bell.ca>
X-IronPort-Anti-Spam-Filtered: true
X-IronPort-Anti-Spam-Result: AnbHAEo170fR4q+H/2dsb2JhbACBWoZWLoIThhIedg
Received: from tofep3.bellnexxia.net (HELO 67.69.240.41) ([209.226.175.135])
by toip40-bus.srvr.bell.ca with SMTP; 30 Mar 2008 09:40:51 -0400
X-Mailer: Openwave WebEngine, version 2.8.11 (webedge20-101-194-20030622)
From: LOAN FIRM <niagara.gallery@bellnet.ca>
Reply-To: revdavidsmithloancompany007@gmail.com
Organization: LOAN FIRM
To: <info@loan.org>
Subject: LOAN OFFER
Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2008 9:40:51 -0400
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-MSK: BYS=0.316731,RUL=0.000000

Follow-up

They've also used this email address: revdavid_capitalsmithsolutinns01@hotmail.com and this is their web address http://www.spartainvestment.com/ (which is general down - once a scam is uncovered, hosting companies usually take it down, so they must move around frequently).

Here is a standard reply they send, if you respond to him:

Dear Customer,
Sequel to your mail stating that you need more information on our loan offer, you can find some vital information about the loan we offer below. In getting a loan from our company, there are some information we need to pass across to you before we can proceed to the application process.

INTEREST RATE:
In the loan we offer, we do charge 0.2% monthly for the loan. Note that the loan re-payment schedule starts 3 months after loan has been transferred to applicants.

INFORMATION NEEDED:
As for the information needed, you will need to fill an application which contains your personal information and also the loan information, this will help us give you a full documentation of the loan terms and agreement contract which you will be expected to sign and send back to the company for approval if satisfied.

PROOF OF IDENTIFICATION:
On the application, you will be asked to provide a proof of Identification, which might consist of an international passport, a driver's license, a national Identity card or a work Identity card as the case may be.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO HAVE YOUR LOAN APPROVED?:
After receiving your application form, all documents will be forwarded to you either by fax or email attachment within 24hours. Immediately the signed document is received from the applicant, approval document follows within 24hours. So i will rather say, it will take 48hours to have your loan processed, approved and released to you.

HOW DO I APPLY:
Please Fill this application Form below:
LOAN APPLICATION FORM
Your Full Name*
Your Email*
Your Full Telephone*
Your Address*
Your City*
State/Province*
Your Country*
Fax Number
Date of Birth *
Credit Score *
Account Balance *
Do You Have An Account? *
Have You Applied Before ? *
Loan Amount Needed *
Loan Duration *
Purpose Of Loan *
How did you hear about us?*

We believe we have been able to answer most of the questions that are frequently asked by loan applicants before securing a loan. In agreement to the above rules/policies, you are expected to fill the form provided above.

Thanks for your understanding and for choosing this firm,
Rev David Smith
Sparta Loan Firm
Our website is presently undergoing a routine mentainance

What to do

We advised him to file a police report, call the FBI and file a complaint with the state attorney general and the Better Business Bureau.

No legitimate loan business would use a Western Union wire for this type of transaction. Since it appears as though a crime has been committed, you should start by filing a report with your local police. They may direct you to the FBI. If you want to simultaneously contact the FBI, here is how to find the local FBI office: https://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/FBI_LocalOffices.php .

If you paid any money via credit card, contact your credit card company immediately and ask to dispute the charges (generally they must be within 60 days). If you paid by Western Union or Money Gram, it is almost impossible to recover the money.

If the company that defrauded you is located in the United States or Canada, file a complaint with the www.BetterBusinessBureau.org ; they are pretty effective at getting refunds from legiitimate companies (obvious not successful with criminal scammers).

And finally, you can contact your state attorneys general office to notify them to the scam. See this page: https://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/stateattorneygenerallist.php

How do loan scams work?

The scammer sends you an email or letter, or you respond to an advertisement on tv, radio, newspaper, magazine or online. The ad often uses the names of large, reputable and well-recognized lenders. To respond to the advertisement, victims are directed to call a "third-party consultant" who solicits application information including social security numbers. During this telephone call, the "loan" is always approved.

The "third-party consultant" then faxes a loan package to the victim, or directs the victim to a website to enter the information. The package includes a request for bank account information.

Finally, victims must wire a required advance payment or a deposit through Western Union or Money Gram to the consultant. The victim never obtains a loan, and the scammer disappears with the application fees and down payments.

See this page for much more information about this type of scam.

How to report a loan scam

If you believe you may have fallen victim to this type of scam and wish to report it, please file a complaint with the U.S. government Internet Fraud Complaints Center.
To file a FTC Fraud Reporting or to get free information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. T
In Canada, call Project Phonebusters in Canada toll-free at 1-888-495-8501.