Beware of predatory loan scams

Anyone here dealt with loans through Credit Karma or this email microfinance0@gmail.com? I’ve been going back and forth with this guy, playing along as Tony Robbins, a lawyer based out of Miami, Ghana. He even gave me a fax number: 0033362025120. I actually signed the loan agreement and sent over $562 in "legalization fees" just to get things moving... but once he started asking for another $1889 to cover a wire transfer from a Miami bank to my account, I shut it down. Total idiot move on my part for sending those initial $562. I’ve got the Western Union receipt and the contract in hand... honestly, I think my best bet is just heading down to the police station. The deal was for a $30,000 loan over 10 years at $276 a month.😕😢😠

Didn't that sound a bit strange to you? You can head down to the police station if you really want to, but you should go right now. I honestly don't think they'll be able to help you much.

Look, sorry, but 🤣 if you’re telling me that with that much cash on the line and such a massive window of time, he’s only paying $3,120 in interest—that is just straight-up ridiculous. Is this some kind of April Fools' joke? 😁

...but seriously, if it’s not, then I actually feel bad for you. Honestly, you should probably just lean on him hard and demand what's owed. Take it as a brutal lesson learned for next time... and just remember, money is the most expensive thing you'll ever deal with.

wanderingharbor61 said:Look, sorry, but 🤣 if you’re telling me that with that much cash on the line and such a massive window of time, he’s only paying $3,120 in interest—that is just straight-up ridiculous. Is this some kind of April Fools' joke? 😁

...but seriously, if it’s not, then I actually feel bad for you. Honestly, you should probably just lean on him hard and demand what's owed. Take it as a brutal lesson learned for next time... and just remember, money is the most expensive thing you'll ever deal with.

Unfortunately, it’s no joke. He actually reached out again today asking for another $1889 for some tax bullshit right before the transaction, claiming it would ensure the funds hit my account by 4 PM. I told him I'm out and he can leave me alone.😕😢😠

So, I got hit up by some guy calling himself Anthony Floyd
He’s asking for $1,500 upfront, claiming he’ll release a loan right after
The catch? He told me to send the cash to some dude named Gideon over in Ghana
Using Western Union
And once that’s done, he supposedly sends the full loan from Union Bank of Ghana
He sent over an email, a phone number, and some kind of "guarantee letter"
But honestly, I can't get him to back off
He keeps blowing up my inbox—just constant messages asking if I'm going to wire the money or when I'll do it
I actually asked him what the monthly payments would look like on a $30,000 loan spread over 15 years
He said it'd be about $215 and that the whole loan hits my account just a few hours after I pay that initial $1,500
To me, this screams scammer through and through

It’s always been a little weird to me how they’re still sending out those scam emails from overseas—I honestly thought people had finally stopped falling for that stuff by now...

But, hey, I guess business is still booming for them...

If it were just them
instead of getting some random email

The second someone asks you to pay via Western Union—especially if they’re claiming to be some kind of legitimate business—you can bet your life it's a scam. Once that money leaves your hands, it’s gone. You won't see them or your purchase ever again... Real companies don't operate like that. They use bank transfers or established online processors like PayPal or similar services.

Does anyone happen to have any information regarding this financial consulting firm? They claim to have been in business for over 30 years now. I was wondering if anyone here in the States has actually successfully secured a loan through them.

If you need a loan, just go straight to the bank. Even if you think Scholz is the most honest guy on the planet, they’re still going to skim their commission for brokering the deal between you and the lender—I really don't see any point in paying for third-party "services."

Hold on, this guy claims he works for some credit union, but his email is just a random Gmail address, and you guys aren't even suspicious about that 😬
I won't even get into the rest of the red flags...

Arthur Kim74 said:Hold on, this guy claims he works for some credit union, but his email is just a random Gmail address, and you guys aren't even suspicious about that 😬
I won't even get into the rest of the red flags...

He's using an email address; scholzfinanz@aol.com

George Lewis9 said:If you need a loan, just go straight to the bank. Even if you think Scholz is the most honest guy on the planet, they’re still going to skim their commission for brokering the deal between you and the lender—I really don't see any point in paying for third-party "services."

Well, we actually did visit the bank, but it seems like it's nearly impossible to secure any kind of credit as a beginner, even though we have solid collateral and a very promising project. Apparently, Scholz acts as a facilitator when it comes to securing mortgage loans.

Morgan Watson3 said:He's using an email address; scholzfinanz@aol.com

Honestly, getting a serious business email from an AOL domain feels about as legitimate as a major bank operating out of a Yahoo or Gmail account... which is to say, not at all.

Morgan Watson3 said:Well, we actually did visit the bank, but it seems like it's nearly impossible to secure any kind of credit as a beginner, even though we have solid collateral and a very promising project. Apparently, Scholz acts as a facilitator when it comes to securing mortgage loans.

The big giveaway is that word "apparently"...
The whole thing just smells fishy from miles away, because you don't just have some visionary stranger drop out of the sky ready to push your loan and your project through...
Because if they really were that helpful, they wouldn't be asking you for an upfront fee in the first place...

Just sign everything they ask for and wire thousands of dollars via Gmail. Just don't come crying to the federal government later claiming they "didn't protect you."

And maybe try Googling the term "financial literacy."

Does anyone here have actual experience dealing with people offering loans based on an employment contract through a notary public? Is this a legitimate way to secure funding, or am I looking at a total scam?

Rebecca Green7 said:Does anyone here have actual experience dealing with people offering loans based on an employment contract through a notary public? Is this a legitimate way to secure funding, or am I looking at a total scam?

In my experience, getting the money isn't usually the issue; the real danger lies in the fine print of the agreement everyone signs without actually reading it first.

Rebecca Green7 said:Does anyone here have actual experience dealing with people offering loans based on an employment contract through a notary public? Is this a legitimate way to secure funding, or am I looking at a total scam?

I mean, sure, it’s possible for someone to lend you money via a notarized contract. It can definitely happen. You just need to look closely at exactly which assets or legal instruments you're pledging as collateral and what kind of interest rate they're slapping on you.

In theory, everything might seem fine, but at the very least, demand to see the contract beforehand. Read through it carefully—better yet, run it by a lawyer first.

It's perfectly clear to me that I need to exercise extreme caution, which is precisely why I am asking. I wanted to see if anyone here actually possesses concrete, firsthand experience regarding this...

it looks like 😁

What specifically are you looking to find out?

There are all sorts of people involved—some big names you’ve heard of and others who stay under the radar—who operate this way. And just like any business, there are different kinds of legal safeguards and insurance policies in place to make sure that whatever money is borrowed actually gets paid back.

Honestly, my best advice is to just keep reading the fine print. Small details matter.😬