Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Mevish Jaffer
When you think of a quick and convenient way to get your hands on some immediate cash in the event of a financial emergency, is the first thought that enters your mind a cash advance or payday loan? Well if so, you’re absolutely right. A payday loan is in fact one of the fastest ways to obtain funds when you need it most; however you do have to be extremely careful when it comes to selecting the right payday lender or company to oversee your loan.
Online Lenders Raise Issues of Security and Legitimacy
A big part of the quickness and convenience that payday loan services offer has to do with the fact that they’re available online. Yet, while being able to apply for a payday loan from the comfort of your own home provides great ease of use, the security of disclosing your personal information as well as the trustworthiness of the payday lender comes into question. If you’re thinking about getting a payday loan online, then it’s vital that you do your best to confirm the site’s security. If you fail to do so, you could wind up becoming the next victim of what’s commonly referred to as identity theft. If you’re someone who believes that these types of things only happen to other people, you need to think again and take the necessary measures to prevent it from happening to you.
One of the ways you can check whether a site is secure is by looking for symbols that represent a secure site, such as the lock and key. Also keep in mind that all transactions on a payday loan site are generally processed across a live wire, which has the potential to put you at risk. Now, only few sites offer no security at all and they should be completely avoided because you would still be taking a chance and that’s not worth it. As a matter of fact, it was estimated that last year, over $10 billion would be spent to recover from identity theft.
How to Spot Fraudulent Online Payday Lenders
While there are plenty of trustworthy payday lenders that exist online, you have to be able to pick out the “bad apples” from the bunch to ensure that you will not be exposed to any deceptive cash advance activities. How exactly can you do this? The following tips can help you weed out shady lenders from those who are legit:
- Watch out for payday loan lenders that try to extend you a loan for a suspiciously short amount of time, such as less than one week.
- You shouldn’t be asked to pay any fees in advance, especially if they are not explained to you.
- If a lending company references a 900 number as a means to make contact with them, odds are it’s a complete fraud.
An added precaution you can take to protect your personal information after visiting a payday loan site is to erase any evidence of your visit. Remember, you can still take advantage of the convenience online payday loans offer; you just have to take extra steps to ensure that your personal information as well as your trust will not get compromised in the process.
