In order to make specific information more accessible to consumers, the Chicago and Northern Illinois BBB is providing the below list of currently active Advance Fee Loan scams and check scams. This list will be updated as time goes by with new scams as they come to our attention. Where possible, each listing will link to a corresponding BBB reliability report where consumers may view further information where available.
It is of critical importance that consumers understand the following: Most of the names on the list are made up. They are names of non-existent companies created for the purpose of lending legitimacy to an otherwise fraudulent offer. Unfortunately in some cases, scammers will find the name of a legitimate company and act as if they are that legitimate business, for the sole purpose of creating a false sense of credibility. All who view this list should be specifically aware that the below names and phone numbers are pieces of information that have been found on checks sent to consumers, or paperwork accompanying these checks or other scams.
Check Scams
The check scam attempts to defraud a consumer out of their own funds from a bank account to which they have access. This is accomplished by sending a consumer a check of some sort, which the consumer is asked to deposit in their bank account. There can be any number of justifications for this action. Some examples are:
- Consumers are told that they have won a lottery, and the check is to cover fees of some sort.
- Consumers are asked to “mystery shop” a money wiring service, using the check funds for the process and for payment.
- Often seen at online auction and classified sites, consumers may be sent a check to pay for an item being sold, but for (usually convoluted) various reasons, the buyer needs to send the seller more money than the item actually costs. Also referred to sometimes as an "overpayment scam".
Once the consumer has deposited this check in their bank account, they are asked to wire funds onward to another person, for various reasons related to the above points, such as mystery shopping, payment of taxes or fees, or to pay “shipping” in an online auction/classifieds overpayment scam. The catch here is that due to various banking practices, it is possible for a check to appear to have “cleared” the bank anywhere from immediately to 10 days later, when in reality the bank is still investigating the check. The end result is that when the bank discovers that the check has no funds behind it, or is a fraudulent check, any funds from that check will be removed from the victim’s bank account, leaving the victim responsible for any funds spent, including those sent by wire. This is true even if as a result, the victim’s account must become overdrawn by hundreds of dollars.
To summarize, the key “red flags” for this scam are: 1) being sent a counterfeit check for any number of reasons, and 2) being asked to deposit this check and send a portion of the funds onward by wire transfer.
For more information on this and other similar scams, please visit www.bbb.org
Advance Fee Loans
The advance fee loan scam is a simple one. In the United States, per Federal law it is illegal for any business to request up front fees for loans. These fees are often referred to by a host of different names, such as taxes, processing fees, insurance, or collateral. Regardless of what they are called, these fees are illegal. The Chicago BBB is aware of many victims of this scam paying their requested advance fee to the scammer. However to date the Chicago and Northern Illinois BBB does now know of a single circumstance where 1) consumers have received their loan, or 2) consumers received their advance fee refunded back to them.
The List
The following is the ongoing list of currently active scams by name. This list will be updated to add new found entities and names, and to remove older inactive entries. Where possible, the name entries link back to the relevant BBB Reliability Report. After the list of names is a list of reported phone numbers. Consumers browsing this list should be advised they can hit Control + F on their PC Keyboard to search this page. This can be used to search for a specific name or phone number for which a consumer may be looking.
Alcoa Consumer Survey **Not Affiliated with Alcoa, Inc., the producer of Aluminum**
Alterna Referral Services - alternareferrals.com
American Trade Register / American Trade Registration
Apex Consulting allegedly at 4250 N Sheridan in Chicago
Ardent Services Inc. in Granite City IL - **No apparent affiliation to Ardent Services Inc. located in Denver Colorado.** Audacious Research, Inc.
Barrister Group LLC - barristergroupllc.com
Bartell Financial Group
Baypoint Lending Group
Beaumont Investment Group - beaumontinvestmentgroup.com
Beckford Financial Services - beckfordfinancial.com
Capital Choice Management
Clarkson Financial
Cloverfield Lending Group - cloverfieldlg.com
Coylehos Steels Co
Crimson Lending Group
D&R Technology
David Allen Enterprises
Dermon Investment Group
DRT Financials
Emerson Equity Group
Euro Financial Consultants
Excel Marketing Inc.
First Business Financial Solutions - fbfsolutions.com
Freedom Exchange Lending Group - freedomexchangelg.com
Fresh Start Lending Group
Grove Enterprises LLC
Hoppe Marketing Group
Horning Financial Group - horningfinancial.com
Hyson Market Response
I.G.C. Services or I.G.C. Survey & Management Services
Info-Grant Inc.
Innerworkings Inc.
Lock Up Evergreen Agency
M.F.G. Management Inc.
Mechanical Servants - **Not Affiliated with Mechanical Servants, Inc., maker's of vending machines and retail packaging options**
Medtack Secret Survey
Mega City Loans
Merite Holdings
MidTack Secret Survey
Mizkan Americas **Not Affiliated with Mizkan Americas, Inc., the producer of condiments, vinegars, etc.**
Money & Shopping or Money and Shopping
Nationwide Marketing & Consumer Research
New Heritage Financial Solutions
North America Shoppers
Northwest Shoppers Forum
Parkview Financial Group - parkviewfinancial.net
PDS Properties
Quick Fact Consumer Research
Remax Financial - remaxf.com - **Not Affiliated with RE/Max International, Inc. the Real Estate Brokerage company**
Rex Gauge, Inc.
Rightdata Research Group
Special Loans
Wildwood Consumer Surveys
Phone Numbers allegedly associated with the above names:
438-880-0576, 438-882-2300, 438-885-5000, 647-886-9381, 438-880-5500, 231-946-3425, 514-638-5631, 450-350-0294, 514-585-8663, 647-892-4315, 450-350-0310, 514-815-9781, 450-350-0307, 514-803-4619, 450-350-0291, 647-892-5763, 647-885-8282, 647-832-5361, 206-666-6314, 877-304-9880, 647-878-2635, 450-350-0293, 438-777-1016, 888-813-5676, 514-583-8481, 450-675-6854, 800-778-5584, 866-398-3670, 514-806-9544, 908-497-6758, 905-781-2600, 866-956-1987, 888-416-5115, 514-625-5387, 514-569-5883, 514-625-5392, 559-664-3979, 888-360-9509, 612-808-0000, 905-598-0017, 647-869-3934, 450-675-3624, 514-651-3692, 450-369-0598, 450-369-0117, 450-675-1478, 702-973-8964, 866-861-7229, 514-638-5439, 514-570-9234, 866-834-5343 , 866-287-6608, 514-652-8147, 868-306-3523, 514-315-6405, 877-260-0755, 877-420-1505, 515-690-3620, 877-280-3111, 877-823-5252, 877-840-3606, 800-903-5750, 289-892-3301, 514-560-5746, 510-200-5110, 877-717-9633,
If you have sent money to any of the above entities, please contact the IC3, the Internet Crime Complaint Center, at www.ic3.gov , as well as Phonebusters, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center, at www.phonebusters.com .