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Scam ad preys on victims’ desperation, trust
By RACHEL PLEASANT
Contributing Writer
In a scam that preyed on those with bad credit, a group based in Ontario, Canada recently promised easy loans to those who merely answered a few questions.
Posing as Liberty Savings Bank, a legitimate financial institution based in Dayton, Ohio, with five locations in South Carolina, the Ontario group placed ads in small community newspapers, including the Charleston Regional Business Journal, advertising loan services for those with poor credit or bankruptcies.
The ads urged readers, “Bankruptcy is not the only way.”
The group established a Web site, www.libsavbank.com, which is easily mistaken for www.libertysavings
bank.com, the address used by the real Dayton-based bank, to promote this fictitious company’s home, business, debt consolidation and personal services.
The scam depended on the trust and desperation of victims. Customers would contact the fake Liberty Savings Bank—either via Web site or a toll-free number—and would answer a litany of personal questions.
Once the Ontario-based group was in possession of a customer’s private information, he or she would be instructed to wire a transfer fee, amounting to several hundred dollars, before the loan would be processed.
Customers not only didn’t receive the loans they hoped for, they were also out a significant amount of money and personal information, which could easily be used in identity theft.
The false Web site has been suspended, and when callers dial the advertised phone number, a recorded voice simply says “Thank you. Goodbye.”
The scheme has caught the attention of the South Carolina Solicitor’s office. Investigator Stephen Brown called the Liberty Savings scam “unbelievable.”
“It started with the Myrtle Beach Herald and it mushroomed out severely,” Brown says, adding that identity theft is one of the “highest-rising crimes in the country.”
Brown declined further comment because the investigation is ongoing.
The real Liberty Savings Bank has posted information on telephone, e-mail and Web fraud on its Web site.
The bank warns bank customers to never provide personal information over the phone unless they have verified the caller’s name and telephone number. The bank adds that its policy is to never ask for this information in a phone call.
In e-mail and Web fraud, a customer may receive an e-mail that looks legitimate—right down to the logo—asking for updated personal information. Scammers may also be able to infect computers with viruses through these fake Web sites. These viruses then can monitor one’s activity and collect information transmitted electronically.
Those who may have been a victim of a scam are urged to contact the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov. The FTC also provides information on protecting against identity theft at www.ftc.gov/theft.
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