Dealing with loan scams
Last updated: 30/07/2026
This Guide is designed to support individuals who have realised that they have become the victim of a loan scam. The Guide includes what practical steps you can take to limit the damage, how to preserve evidence, look after your well-being and where you can get specialist support and report the crime in the UK.
What is a loan scam?
A loan scam is when a criminal tricks you into paying up front for a loan, for example to cover insurance, admin fees, ahead of payday or a deposit. This money is taken and then the loan is never provided and the person or company offering the loan disappears. The scam can take the following forms:
Advance fee - in order to receive the “loan” you must first pay a fee such as insurance fee, processing charge, deposit or first repayment. However, the loan never arrives. A legitimate lender would generally deduct fees from the loan amount before it is issued to you.
Fake lender websites - criminals often create convincing websites, which may mimic well-known brands and include logos and fake reviews to collect personal information such as bank details, payslips, online banking information and passport details.
Guaranteed approval loans - which state no checks are needed, your credit rating does not matter, a loan will be granted. Legitimate lenders would still conduct affordability and identity checks, as required by law or regulations.
Loan brokering - fake brokers charge a matching fee or subscription, but no loan materialises.
Debt consolidation or relief - fraudsters offer to reduce debt and combine loans to make repayments cheaper. However, they will collect personal information and not provide any service.
Loan flipping / repeat fees - if a loan application fails, fraudsters pass you onto a different “provider” who will be happy to provide a loan for an additional fee.
Loan scams are a type of fraud under UK law, and can involve offences such as fraud by false representation under the Fraud Act 2006.
They can leave you feeling embarrassed, worried about money, and anxious about what might happen next, but it is not your fault and you are not alone.
Initial contact about the loan is usually via an advert or direct contact by phone, text, email or on social media.
Alternatively, you may be contacted about loan repayments on a loan you have not taken out and harassed to make repayments. The criminals may be impersonating a real company you have actually taken a loan from, but they get you to make payments into a criminal account.
As part of this scam, you may have shared lots of your personal data such as your bank and identity information.
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How do you know if you have been a victim of a loan scam?
The loan you have signed up for never materialises.
You were asked to pay upfront fees.
You start to receive debt letters or credit applications that you did not make.
Your credit report shows unknown accounts or searches
Approaches to dealing with loan scams
Gather all communications from the criminals - to support a police or bank investigation it is important to save all of the evidence. Screenshot all messages and save the images in a secure place. Save any emails to a folder or secure inbox. If you can, build a timeline of events listing what happened and when. You can find more information on preserving evidence.
Stop communication - Only stop communication once you have safely recorded or saved any messages you may need as evidence. Do not provide any more information or money. Do not respond to any messages from them.
List all information you have shared - while capturing the evidence, review what information you have shared with the criminal and make a list. If email addresses have been shared then be careful of incoming emails and any financial details shared should be reported to your bank or card issuer.
Contact your Bank - call your bank and explain the issue. If the payment is recent then they may be able to freeze your money before it goes to the criminals.
Change passwords - if you have logged into any accounts as part of the scam or provided passwords change these immediately (and remember to change the other places you use that password). The National Cyber Security Centre has advice on creating strong passwords and password management.
If you were asked to screenshare, scan your devices - if you had a screenshare session with the fraudster and they asked you to download any software so they could access your computer to help with the loan application then remove this software immediately and run an antivirus scan. You can see our guide on removing malicious software.
Contact any impersonated companies - it may be that the criminal was pretending to represent a real company. If so, contact this organisation and explain what happened. If you have an account with that company, ask them to check the security of your account and review any recent activity and follow their instructions.
Check your credit report - Check what else the criminal has done with your information. A credit report will show you any searches done by a lender, what date the search took place, what name and address it was done against and also for what type of application. It will also show what credit accounts are set up in your name. You can contact any one of these credit reference agencies and receive support in resolving credit report problems caused by identity fraud. Popular companies that can provide your credit report include: Noddle, Equifax, Experian and ClearScore.
Take out CIFAS Protective Registration - CIFAS Protective registration makes it harder for loans and financial credit to be taken out in your name. Adding this protection could limit any further issues.
Beware recovery scams - Once you stop responding many criminals will contact you pretending to be the police or your bank offering to help you, but really scamming you out of more money. Do not engage with any incoming calls, emails or text messages from these sources. Instead, contact the force or your bank on a number that is publicly available (on the internet for example) to confirm they are trying to contact you.
Try getting your money back - Use our guide to see different approaches to trying to recover any lost funds.
Harassment or threats - review our Online Harassment guide to see how to deal with this harassment.
Some offenders may use AI-generated content, such as deepfake images, videos, or cloned voices, to impersonate people or create convincing false material. This can make scams, harassment, or blackmail feel more realistic and harder to identify. If something feels unusual or out of character, try to verify it through a trusted, separate method before taking action or responding. In loan scams, this might include fake ‘video calls’ or very convincing voice calls that sound like a real bank or lender employee.
How to reduce the chance of being caught up in a loan scam
Be careful of unsolicited messages - any messages you receive offering you a loan, credit card or other financial product may be a scam. Do not engage with potential lenders on social media. Instead research the official website for that provider, contact them directly and validate them on the FCA Register.
Use a scam checker - use a scam checker, like Ask Silver, to check if the phone numbers, messages, websites or images are known to have been used in other scams.
Check companies are legitimate - You can use the Get Safe Online Check a Website service to check the risk of the website being a scam. You can also check Companies House and the Financial Conduct Authority to check if the lender is real and licensed to operate in the UK, or if they are on the FCA Warning Tool .
Generic email domains - be suspicious of lenders using generic email domains such as gmail, outlook or yahoo.
Upfront payments - Never make a payment upfront. Do not respond to any requests to send money, or have money transferred through your account by someone you don’t know and trust.
Hang Up and Call 159: If someone calls claiming to be from a bank or a trusted authority, hang up and call “159” a secure service provided by Stop Scams UK and Global Cyber Alliance. This will ensure you have a legitimate contact number for the provider.
Take out CIFAS Protective Registration - CIFAS Protective registration makes it harder for loans and financial credit to be taken out in your name. Adding this protection could limit any further issues.
Keep an eye on your credit score - It is worth keeping an eye on your credit score to check for any changes. Use the sites listed above to check.
Good online security & privacy - Keeping your security and privacy strong online will go a long way to protect you and your information. The National Cyber Security Centre has advice on how to stay secure online.
Report the crime
If you feel in immediate danger or are being threatened, call the police on 999. For non-emergency situations, you can contact the police on 101 or via their online reporting services.
If you are in England, Wales or Northern Ireland you should report all fraud to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via their website https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/ who can provide a crime reference number and investigate what has happened. In Scotland, report to Police Scotland.
Report to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)– they will try to stop the scam and warn others before they fall victim. You can report suspected loan scams via the FCA website at https://www.fca.org.uk/ or via their consumer helpline on 0800 111 6768.
Additional signposting
To ensure you have a legitimate contact number for your provider, dial “159”, a secure service provided by Stop Scams UK and Global Cyber Alliance. https://stopscamsuk.org.uk/campaign/get-help-now/
The National Cyber Security Centre has a suspicious email reporting service – all you have to do is forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk .
You can also get free, confidential support from organisations such as Victim Support (www.victimsupport.org.uk, 08 08 16 89 111) or Citizens Advice (www.citizensadvice.org.uk), who can help you understand your rights, options, and next steps.
If you’re struggling with money, you can get guidance on dealing with debt from MoneyHelper
Consider telling a trusted friend or family member what has happened, if it feels safe to do so, so they can support you and help you keep an eye on your accounts and devices.
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