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THE CENTRAL BANK of Ireland is warning of a scam targetting consumers looking for cash loans from online providers.
The Bank said it is seeing an increasing number of cases of advance fee fraud that targets customers of high cost credit providers (HCCPs).
The scam targets consumers applying for cash loans, offering them a loan in exchange for an upfront fee or an administration fee to apply for a loan.
High cost credit providers regulated by the Central Bank are not allowed to charge any administration fees to apply for a loan.
If you are dealing with a regulated HCCP, you will never have to pay a fee up front before getting a loan, or have to pay a fee to ‘release’ the loan or loan documentation, the Central Bank said.
If you are asked to pay a fee, you should not use that provider as it is likely to be a scam.
If you share any payment details with these providers, you are at risk of losing significant amounts of money.
Some warning signs that a provider’s website is likely to be a scam include:
“This is an especially ruthless scam as it targets people looking for high cost credit, which is often used by people managing budgeting or other financial challenges,” Central Bank director of consumers protection Colm Kincaid said.
“Beware of any firm that looks for an upfront fee from you. There are rules in place that mean no legitimate high cost credit provider can ever charge you an administration or application fee for a loan. If you are being charged a fee, you should immediately walk away and stop engaging with that firm,” Kincaid said.
“In some cases, we have seen websites that have been cloned from legitimate providers. So even in cases where no fee is charged, you should still check our register to ensure the provider you are dealing with is regulated by the Central Bank, which provides you with a number of protections,” he said.
“The Central Bank will continue to be vigilant to identify and deal with scams of this nature, and engage with An Garda Siochána to combat it.”
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well as long as DOB doesn’t get it,
He may be a friend of DOB, some digging needs to be to be done on this,and not the water meter kind.
Guess who does all the UPC installations
Do you have Sky or UPC. Doesn’t make a difference actually becuase they work for both company’s along with the ESB. Does this mean now that you are going to cut off your electricity becuase of the dreaded Dennis O Briens company works for them.
What’s your point Henry? The man has got his fingers stuck in as many pies as possible. He was deemed corrupt by the Moriarty Tribunal. We are entitled to shout “Stop”.
If Liberty want to buy it, it has to be passed by the regulator but if DOB Wants to buy it, it doesn’t ??
Where does it say that it doesn’t have to be passed to the regulator if INM buys it? Surely that would be MORE likely to happen given INM already own such a large array of media outlets?
They bought Tv3 for 265m in 2006. 265 million. LoL.
upc has to have the worst customer service I have ever encountered. they might as well just call over and slap you in tbe face. between 9 and 1 and 1 a d 6 of course
I am sure Denis O’Brien will get first shout as is normal when doing business in Ireland.
Anyone but Dob
all assets should be seized from d o Brien, and he should be banned from this country.
Hope this is the case as DOB also has his eyes set on tv3 also reports are saying
It pays to read the whole article before commenting…
“Meanwhile, Independent News and Media (INM), in which billionaire Denis O’Brien is the biggest shareholder, has also been flagged as a possible TV3 buyer after the company said it planned to spend up to €100 million on acquisitions.
However the media company has since described the move as “highly unlikely” and added there hadn’t been any talks between INM and TV3′s owners.”
If INM have €100m to spend and TV3 was worth €265m in 2006, it seems unlikely they’d be able to afford it?
I can proudly say, I don’t watch anything on that awful channel. TV at its absolute worst.
It’s better than utv
Only slightly. Utv Ireland is terrible though.
Denis O Brien already has too much power
John Malone is as bad as DOB! Why the sudden interest in tv3 you may ask? It’s the only tv station that is not run with a hidden agenda and is not controlled by the powers to be! The main reason TV3 is wanted is because of Vincent Browne! He is outspoken has no axe to grind and puts irish politicians through their paces! The rest of the media are just a front for the government and the powers to be to tell the people only what they need to hear and hide the reality of what is really going on! As I said JM and DOB are of the same breed! Nuff said!!
surely DOB shouldn’t be allowed to acquire this … narrowing competition etc.
I hope Donald Trump buys it, fires Vincent brown an replaces him with a syndication of Glenn Beck’s show.
Vincent Browne is the single best thing about TV3. He’s rare in Irish journalism in that he treats politicians of all parties (and none) in the same manner.
trump tv. it will just be about barac obama and weather he is an american citizen. right wing news glenn beck the guy who tries to legitimise the war on Palestine. no thank you between thegun loving texas ranger and the zionist. jesus they would do your head in give me Vincent Brown any day of the week no hidden agenda.
Dreadful TV station. Either that or the programmes are not aimed at my geographic. Most people I know don’t watch TV anyway. They are all over the Internet. The television era is coming to an end. The golden age has been way behind us for some time now. All things must pass.
Sell it might get soaps in HD
That sentence makes no sense!
TV3? …is that still on – air? ?
have your say