Personal Loan

I have been approved with a company by the name of Boz Fred Investments for a loan. I would like to know if this is a reputable company or is it a scam? If anyone could help me in finding out if this company is "good", please let me know. I am in desperate need of a personal loan and need some assistance in finding out which company is "real" and which one is "not".

Thank you. Lee

Hi cathieloves, welcome here.

I was unable to find the name of that company with a Google search. Do you have more information you can show us?

Loan scams are quite common. If you received and unsolicited offer through email, it is very likely a scam. Or a very bad deal, at a minimum.

I can't find anything for a company called Boz Fred Investments either, can you post the phone numbers and email addresses that they use, and the "full headers" from an email they have sent to you.

Importantly -- did you actually apply for this loan? If not, well, then I think you have your answer.

Yes I did apply for a loan. The following is the information that was on their letterhead::::::

The C.E.O's Office,
Boz Finance Investments,
SuitB#77 Downtown Avenue,
Abuja Nigeria Africa Cell Number
+234 803 311 6180
Boz Fred

Hi Cathieloves, where Colin says this above:

did you actually apply for this loan?

What he means is, did you receive an unsolicited email from this supposed loan company, which you then replied to asking for a loan?

Because that Boz Fred loan company does not exist, many Nigerian scammers send out emails offering loans, or post on websites offering loans, basically, they will ask you to pay a fee to get your loan, but you don't get the loan, NEVER try to get a loan from someone in Nigeria, you WILL be scammed!

The phone number you gave is not listed anywhere on the internet, the number is a Nigerian mobile (cell) phone, scammers use those so that they cannot be traced.

The address he gave to you has been used in other scams, see these Google results:

Google Results For: SuitB#77 Downtown Avenue, Abuja Nigeria

Nothing you have posted so far gives me even an ounce of hope that this is a legitimate company, but if you still have doubts, it would be helpful if you can post the original email you received along with the header.

Googling the email address might be helpful too. Is it from a free email account like yahoo, myway, hotmail, etc.?

Here is another email that I received saying that I was approved. I went to a couple of different sites and this is the info::::

HARTFORD FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
{Credit Loan Brokers}
Tower 190,Level 33 65
Old Broad Street, London
United Kingdom

This is all that I received. Please let me know what you think. Thank You.

Lee

^^It's a little difficult to look into this with the limited information you are posting. I PM'd you an email address. If you would like to forward me the emails you have received, I would be happy to take a closer look.

Cathieloves, there is no Hartford Financial Investment company in London. There is a similarly-named company in the US, with a branch in London, but it is an insurance company and does not do loans.

Hartford, CT USA is a hub for insurance companies. I'm sure they are using the name Hartford to lend some air of authenticity.

I am 100% convinced that this is a SCAM. Please do NOT send them any money. You will lose it.

Thanks for posting, and please continue to post until we know that you are safe and will not be losing money to these scammers.

That second set of details you gave is also a scam, if you Google their address:

Tower 190,Level 33 65, Old Broad Street, London

You will get these results:

Google Results For: Tower 190,Level 33 65, Old Broad Street, London

And the first Google result leads to this page where a different loan company use the exact same address:

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/cropwel ... UHEMDA60GO

Here is one of the fake loan scammers from that page using the London address, this is clearly from an African scammer, as most of the posts about loans on that page are, here is the loan advert:

LARRY FINANCE COMPANY
Satellite Provider

LARRY FRANK FINANCE COMPANY
(FinancialAid Professionals)
Tower 190,Level 33 65
Old Broad Street, London
United Kingdom.
Good Day, Welcome to Larry loan Finance Company,interest rate at 3%.It gladdens our hearts to bring to your notice that we offer all kinds of loan to any part of the world.Being a licensed and registered company under the finance ministry here in the United Kingdom we make available to
customers legitimate loan offers that are quick and affordable with interest rate at a mere 3%.Our Packages include:*Home Loan *Auto Loan*Mortgage Loan*Business Loan*International Loan*Personal Loan*And Much More.

Please if you are delighted and interested in our financial offer,Do not hesitate to contact us if in need of our service as you will be required to furnish us with the following details to commence with the process of your loan sum accordingly.
First Name:_________
Last Name:_________
Gender:_________
Marital status:_________
Contact Address:_________
City/Zip code:_________
Country:_________
Date of Birth:_________
Amount Needed as Loan:_________
Loan Duration:_________
Monthly Income/Yearly Income:_________
Occupation:_________
Purpose for Loan:_________
Phone:_________
Fax:_________
Thanks For Your Patronage!
'Your Business Is Our Blessing'
Mr,LARRY FRANK,
London Operations Manager,
LARRY FRANK FINANCE COMPANY,
Tower 190, Level 33 65,
Old Broad Street, London,
United Kingdom.
Email:info_larryfrkloanfinanci [email protected]

cathiloves forwarded me two emails from the "companies" she mentioned.

The Boz Fred email is a very typical scam email letter:

Compliment of the day to you,I wish to notify you that your mail containing the filled information was received by this department.In order to seal up the transaction,Our terms of service which are widely stated below must be agreed upon before any further step can be taken in this loan contract.

{TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE}

(1) For security reasons,This company has an Activation cover in case of future loss/death occurance by both parties.So the loan will be activated under the stipulated law.

(2) The stated sum of money due for loaning must be paid back within a minimum period of (1yrs).

(3) The Loan attracts an interest rate of (3%).

(4) In the course of the loan term duration,A constant monthly payment will be paid for a period of (1yr), two months after the loan have been confirmed available to the beneficiary degsinated account.

(5) Late payment of monthly installments has a penalty of 1% increase.
(6) Borrowers/Beneficiary's are solely responsible for the Activation charges of the loan.

(7) Your transfer fee of the loan will be taken care of by the company. Why you are only to be charge for the ACTIVATION FEE of your account, before the loan can be transfer to you. In light of the above explanations,The information below vividly illustrates the repayment schedule for the loan.
====================================
REPAYMENT SCHEDULE}
Loan Balance: $100,000.00
Adjusted Loan Balance: $100,000.00
Loan Interest Rate: 3.00%
Loan Term: 10 years
Monthly Loan Payment: $965.61
Number of Payments: 120
Cumulative Payments: $115,872.84
Total Interest Paid: $15,872.84
Note: The monthly loan payment was calculated at 119 payments of $965.61 plus a final payment of $965.25.
======================================

NB: Congratulations the sum of $100,000 USD will be given to you for 10 years,by our esteemed company,and if the above information are not understandable or satisfactory to you,Do write back for more detailed information as your satisfaction is our delight.

Finally,If The terms of service cannot be met by you,You can send us a Letter of Disclaimer stating that you do not wish to continue the transaction.Or if agreed email us telling us about your agreement to this terms and conditions.
Await your urgent response ,so that we can proceed further.

Best Regards.
Boz Fred.
+234 803 311 6180

The second email is much more official looking. The text was probably "borrowed" from a legitimate loan broker, and edited to include the fake scammer names:

Dear xxx xxxxxx,

You have made the right decision contacting us for a personal loan. Getting a personal loan at Hartford is easy with our no hassle process. We keep it simple with a guaranteed fixed rate that is far less than what is obtainable in the market.

As credit brokers, we can help you get the best loan that suits your need from our affiliate bank on your behalf. You do not have to sign an agreement with our lender (Nationwide International Limited) introduced by this firm. Hartford Financial Investment will use the information you have provided following the completion of our application our team of professional underwriters will assess your individual requirements and circumstances and look for the best secured loan, approve a flexible insurance policy that fit your needs and compute a convenient repayment plan that you can meet.

A secured loan is easier to obtain for international borrowers, even if you have an adverse or bad credit history. This is because lenders will only give out loans exceeding $15,000 USD using your property as collateral. Personal loans offered by Hartford Financial Investment are secured by the lender as "Indemnity Guarantee Premium" in the event of a default. Additional Security Fee is generally used to buy a form of insurance policy by the lender that guarantees that they will not lose out if their customer defaults on repaying their loans.This means that the lender has a lower risk of losing any money and can, as a result, offer a secured loan at a lower APR (Annual Percentage Rate) than an unsecured loan, which gives the lender less security.

After The Loan Application - What's Next?
After the loan application has been completed, it will be turned over to the lender's loan processing department. It then goes to the underwriter, where the decision to approve or reject the loan will be made. Processing times vary from one lender to another, for Hartford, it takes approximately three business days after completing the application to provide you with a Good Faith Estimate that will give you an excellent idea of the estimated costs associated with the new loan. It will show costs associated with the loan settlement, interest rate and Payment Protection Insurance.

Within the same three days you will also receive a Truth-in-Lending Disclosure statement. This statement shows, among other things, the estimated monthly payment. The total cost of all finance charges on your loan is also shown, stated as an Annual Percentage Rate (APR).

After the lender has approved the loan, you will usually receive a commitment letter, which sets out the terms of the loan and the length of time for which those terms are offered. If the loan does not close within the specified commitment period, the terms are subject to change. You usually must accept the commitment by returning a signed copy to the lender within five to ten days. The commitment may contain conditions that you will still have to satisfy, so you should read it carefully. Once the commitment letter or approval has been received, you are assured the financing you need to complete the finance of your loan and turn your attention to completing the details required for settlement.

Hartford approves loans for eligible applicants only and will submit a commitment or approval letter to the loan finance bank. If the loan meets the criteria set by the Nationwide International Limited, a copy of the Insurance Certificate securing the loan will be issued to our financier to wire transfer the funds to your account at local bank. You won't need any interviews and all the paperwork can usually be completed through e-mail and by phone. We'll do everything we can to make sure the process runs smoothly and you get the money as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Hartford Financial Investment is a credit broker that can do this for you. We will work for you in sourcing the best rate loan available to suit your circumstances and your requirements. Please fill the application included in the previous correspondence in order for us to provide a loan quote that suits your need. We will get back to you within 24 hours after receipt of your application and approval with further information regarding securing your loan as disclosed above.

Yours faithfully,
Mr. Jason Hartford
Operations Manager

I was also unable to find any information about the companies or people listed in this email. I can't see why any legitimate loan broker would be difficult to find.

Here are a few good links for anyone who is interested in learning more about loan scams:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/loans.shtm

http://phoenix.about.com/od/scam1/a/fakeloan.htm

http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/Cri ... rokers.htm

Edit:

cathiloves was also good enough to forward this to me. It was sent by Boz in an effort to prove to her that he is legitimate.

It sounds as if Cathieloves is now safe, and will not be losing any money to the scammers.

Cathieloves THANK YOU for posting here! Your story will help countless other potential victims, by educating them about these types of loan scams. The most effective line of defense against these criminals is awareness, which you have helped to raise.

This image below posted by Chris is a well known fake document, I have seen it posted on 419eater.com countless times in the pictures section, the scammers have it as a blank template and type whatever text they want on to it to send to their victims.