Safe Loans: Myth or Reality?

Sometimes, we need money. Oh, well, we need money all the time but, sometimes, we need them urgently. In this case, fast cash loans can save you from starving while business financial aid can save your company from bankruptcy. In the Philippines, there are dozens of different organizations that provide lending services for individuals, groups, and entities. You can contact a bank, a governmental fund or even a peer-to-peer private team to get your quick cash loan. But the question is: are these offerings safe?
Further, we will try to figure out the essence of loans, reveal potential issues with the lending services, and list major red flags that should help you to spot a fraudulent company. It’s because we believe that any Filipino citizen can get a safe loan.

Main Concerns Related to Loans

Long story short, there are three key ideas that worry businesses and ordinary clients of the lending companies:

1) «They will steal my money». This point refers to frauds that ask for initial loan fees. Simply put, they really want to get your money instead of providing cash to you. It’s pretty easy to spot unfair brands: they are asking for upfront fees.
2) «They will steal my data». This point is trickier. On the one hand, phishing sites can get your sensitive info like passwords or bank credentials and, respectively, get access to your money. On the other hand, dishonest lenders can resell your personal details without your consent. The universal advice is the following: deal with reputable brands only.
3) «They will steal my reputation». The last thing is a concern of business owners, generally. By dealing with illegal or simply poor-trusted companies, you and, particularly, your own business are risking to lose the clients’ loyalty. Happily, nearly all big lending teams in the Philippines operate under the laws.

Still, it’s easier said than done. All the three concerns lead to a pretty cautious attitude to lenders and, especially, to online loans. That’s why a lot of Filipino employees and entrepreneurs, not to mention unemployed persons, don’t opt for these services even when they realize the usefulness. Thus, let’s take a look at the algorithm of detecting scam/fraud lending companies. Hope, it will help locals to get some trust.

Identifying Scam and Fraud

First and foremost, you should always follow the rule of reality. In other words, if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Many fraudsters offer unbelievably perfect conditions, don’t look at the credit history, accept all requests, promise thousands of pesos without delays, and so on. Most likely, these ideal companies just want to get your money or sensitive data. If you deal with these teams, mind that it is at your own risk. Better, don’t deal with them at all.
The next list includes a few main red flags that you should look for when exploring offerings provided by different lending companies in the Philippines. These marks are universal so they work for international lenders, too:

- Copycat names. Often, small and fraudulent groups try to mimic more famous and reputable brands. They may use similar or even the same names. They even can forge official papers and actors to talk to clients. Don’t deal with lenders before ensuring that the chosen partner is real. For this, you can check its address and license.

- No physical address. Even online lenders must have an official legal address so customers and controlling bodies can reach the company. Before registering and applying for a loan, check the lender’s info to find out its physical address. Ideally, double-check this info as well as other key points.

- No registration. This is a gigantic waving red flag that should worry you always. All lending companies in the Philippines must be licensed via the governmental Securities and Exchange Commission . Thus, you can easily contract this body to check whether a given brand is registered or not. If not, just avoid it.

- No requirements. Some teams (usually, private and small ones) may tempt you with cool offers like «P100,000 in 24 hours without credit history and applications». Surely, you will get the money and will be able to cash out them. But your personal info might be sold to other companies in the Philippines. Most likely, these offers aren’t safe.

- Upfront fees. Well, this last thing is pretty obvious. Legitimate lenders and intermediaries that connect clients with lenders may charge fees but they never do it before providing a loan itself. If a company or an individual asks you to pay any upfront amount, just refuse to cooperate.

Overall, it’s not a big deal to check the company’s reputability. You only should verify the core information such as addresses, phone numbers, and registration papers. As well, we suggest avoiding too generous offers and ones that don’t require your credit history. Finally, never pay initial fees before getting your loan. Follow these simple rules and you will be happy with fully legit lending companies.

Key Principles of Responsible Borrowing

In conclusion, we will list six general insights that can protect your interactions with lenders, either online or offline ones. By fulfilling these principles, both parties will be in safer positions and will not experience serious problems. Take a look!

1. Don’t apply for a loan for gambling.
2. Don’t apply on behalf of other people.
3. Don’t hide your real addresses and phone numbers.
4. Don’t overdue regular payments.
5. Don’t take loans to cover the previous loans.
6. Don’t take more money than the experts recommend.

Hope, you found this info useful. Remember that loans really can be safe if you follow several simple rules. Protect yourself from fraudsters with enough knowledge to enjoy quick, secure, and profitable borrowing!