Victim Location 06460
Total money lost $510
Type of a scam Advance Fee Loan
I received a text from Jason Smith from Lending Club, LLC saying my loan application had been successfully approved from 41,000 up to $10,000. He said to call back on 313-355-7479. I called him and he said he needed a $75 application fee and that I should go to CVS or Walgreens to get prepaid "Steam" cards. I did and called him with the scratch off codes on the $50 and $20 and $20. cards. He checked with the loan approval department and said that due to an electronic transfer problem, he need a refundable additional $225. Being the gullible dummy that I am, send him the scratch off information from the back of five more "Steam" cards for $50 and $50 and $50 and $50 and $20.
He checked with the loan approval department and found out that my credit score was lower than they thought and that I need a loan insurance/guarantee policy to be sure I paid them back. He said this would raise my score 75 points. Being the incredibly stupid, naive, gullible person that I am, I sent him another $200. When the loan money was not transferred in five minutes, as promised, he checked again and found that the money needed to be sent via Western Union or MoneyGram and that he needed another $110 to cover the cost. He said that he would need two $50 cards plus a $20 card from "Steam" cards. He said he would personally guarantee any monies to me from his own pocket. I told him no. I asked him for his Lending Clu ID information, and he sent me a text with his Batch ID 10214 and a telephone number to call 323-643-5574 to confirm it. I did not call. I called Lending Club who said it sounded like an "Advance Fee Scam" and refused to take any responsibility for it. They said to contact their Fraud Department, but they never responded to me. I called the "Steam" people in India and they said that prepaid cards bought with cash are not traceable or stoppable and too bad. I lost $510 in all. I called Jason Smith and texted him that I wanted all my money back (I had given him my Checking account information – which I have now changed). I said that if I did not receive the money back, I would hunt him down and be sure he went to jail (I do not think that he was scared by that, but I felt a little bit better after having been so stupid!). I also filed a complaint with the FTC. Should I file this with the police, too?
Victim Location 76108
Type of a scam Advance Fee Loan
This is the text I received after they called and left several messages.
Hello,
Congratulations,
This message is to inform you that your loan application which has been successfully approved by our company up to $10000, So kindly get back to us on our direct line number (323)-325-2338 to transfer your loan amount into your account.
Thank You
Joseph Hernandez,
Lending Club LL
Victim Location 44077
Total money lost $325
Type of a scam Advance Fee Loan
The person said I was guaranteed a loan if I paid so much money. First he told me that I only had to pay $55 dollars on an Itunes card in order to get the loan, then I called the guy back with the $55 dollars on the Itunes card. So then he said that I had to pay another $95 dollars for insurance so I had to purchase another ITunes card and then I came home waiting for the loan to come through and it didn’t so I called the guy back and he said that I had to pay $100 dollars for the loan for it to be transferred to my daughters account. He said it would been in her account in 30 minutes and that he three way called me and the bank and the bank teller said that the loan was accepted and that it would be in her account in 30 minutes so she called the bank and they said there was no pending deposits for her account so I called him back and he said that if I put $115 dollars on ITunes card that I would be able to get the money through money gram. He gave me two reference numbers and that I had to wait 10 minutes before getting the money. So I waited 10 minutes and called money gram and they said that there was no money to be accepted. Then I called him back and he said in order for me to receive the money that I would have to buy another ITunes card with $125 in order for me to get the money through money gram. After they told me that I had to buy another Itunes card I told them I wasn’t spending any more money and that I wanted to get my money back and the supervisor said that I couldn’t get my money back. So I told him that I wanted my money back and the supervisor said that it’s going to take 21 days for me to receive my money back in a check.