The Economic and Organized Crime Office has issued a press statement warning all salaried workers of new scam about loans.
According to EOCO, scammers are targeting salaried workers and attempting to take advantage of people who may be struggling financially.
These unscrupulous individuals call and send text messages promising loans at affordable rates and promising to coach individuals to secure loans for a fee.
The Economic and Organised Crime Office has in recent times received a number of complaints from salaried workers who have fallen victim to these individuals.
Mode of operation
Scammers call and persuade salaried workers to secure loans or propose to assist them to secure loans. This is done in the hope of retrieving their locked up funds at Controller and Accountant-General’s Department.
These unscrupulous individuals pose as staff of (CAGD), thus, assure unsuspecting victims that they could secure a loan from any financial Institution. They further tell their victims the amount of money to procure after checking their affordability.
This is supposedly to help ease the process of retrieving the locked up funds owned the victim. The scammer will promise that CAGD will pay the lump sum to the financial institution where the loan was acquired, after the loan is secured, the scammer takes a percentage of the total sum.
In other instances, they persuade salaried workers and take their passport pictures and identity cards with the hope of securing the loan on their behalf.
The worker receives the loan, pays the agreed percentage to the scammer; but ends up paying double the amount that was previously agreed on.
Once the victim realizes they have been scammed, all efforts to reach the scammer proves futile.
There are many red flags that salaried workers should be on the lookout for, including but not limited to a demand for payment upfront or after, instructions to submit personal details to a third party, persistent calls, messages to convince you to go for a loan.
Published By: Justice Donkoh | GESHub.org
