Personal Loan Scam Calls - How to Protect Yourself

How the Scam Works

You receive a call or voicemail from a name like "Jessica" or "Evelyn" claiming to be from a "loan department" or "underwriting branch". They state that a personal loan application for a massive amount (often $35,000 to $64,000) has been "pre-approved" or is "almost complete". The catch? You never applied for a loan.

Once they get you on the line, they will use two primary methods to steal from you:

• Identity Theft: They demand sensitive information like your Social Security number, bank routing numbers, or your date of birth to "verify your file".
• Upfront Fee Fraud: They claim you must make an advance payment via wire transfer, gift card, or digital payment app to "release" or cover the processing fees for the loan.

Major Red Flags

• Unsolicited Approvals: Legitimate banks and lenders do not call out of the blue to approve you for a massive loan you never requested.
• Extreme Sense of Urgency: The caller will push you to act immediately, stating your approval will expire or your file is about to close.
• Vague or Inconsistent Details: They rarely name a real, recognizable financial institution, instead using generic names like "the lending union".
• Spoofed Numbers: The call might look like it is coming from a local business or a government agency, but scammers routinely mask their real numbers.

How to Protect Yourself

1. Hang Up Immediately: Do not interact with the voice or the person on the other end.
2. Do Not Press Any Buttons: The voicemail prompts might tell you to "Press 7 to opt-out" or "Press 9 to be placed on the Do Not Call list". Do not do this. Interacting alerts the automated dialer that your number is active, which will dramatically increase the volume of spam calls you receive.
3. Never Call Back: Refuse to call the number left in the voicemail script. If you are genuinely curious if a real bank is contacting you, look up the bank's official number independently and call them directly.
4. Use Phone Silence Tools: Go into your phone settings and activate built-in spam features. On iPhone, turn on Silence Unknown Callers. On Android, utilize the native Google Call Screen capability. Your mobile carrier (such as T-Mobile or Verizon) also provides free spam-filtering apps to block these before they ring.

How to Report the Calls

Help federal agencies track down these operations by filing reports. You can submit details directly to the FTC Fraud Reporting Portal or log the scam on the BBB Scam Tracker.