The Central Bank of Ireland noted that a fraudulent platform had been claiming to be a retail credit company in Ireland without proper authorisation. In this case, the fraudulent platform clones and impersonates a legitimate company authorized by the central bank in order to deceive consumers. This scam is an example of "prepaid fee fraud" where an advance payment is required before a loan is offered. Loans were never offered.
The unauthorized platform cloned the name of central bank-authorized company Amigo Loans Ireland t/a Amigo Loans. It should be noted that there is no connection between a central bank-authorized company and an unauthorized platform that clones its details.
It is a criminal offence for an unauthorized company/individual to provide financial services in Ireland that are required to be authorised under the relevant law, and the Central Bank is the body responsible for enforcing the law. Consumers should check the central bank's register online to see if the company/individual they are trading with is authorized. Consumers should be wary of advertisements for loans from unauthorized companies or individuals.
Before dealing with a company/individual who claims to provide financial services, individuals should take some general steps:
1. If you are going to buy financial products (such as loans, insurance, investments or pensions) or engage in financial services (such as investment advice), please only deal with companies/individuals authorized by the central bank – please check the central bank's register to see if the company/individual is registered. Be sure to access the register from the central bank website and not from a link via email or corporate/individual website.
2. Always double-check the URL and contact information of the company/individual in case it is a "clone company/person" pretending to be an authorized company/individual, such as your bank or a real investment company.
3. Check the list of unauthorized companies. If the company/individual is not on the central bank's list, don't assume it's legitimate – it may not have been reported to the central bank yet.
Anyone wishing to contact the central bank for information about such companies/individuals can do so by calling. The public can also check over the phone whether a company is authorized.
Tianyan reminder: Before doing foreign exchange transactions, be sure to review the qualifications of the foreign exchange platform and the official website information, in case of being deceived, if you encounter foreign exchange withdrawal problems or fraud, you should immediately collect evidence to report to the police, and expose and protect your rights!