Has anyone else heard of this? I just read a article about people and companies offering "startup loans" or loans for people with bad credit or specific situation, via Facebook and Twitter?! They supposedly do not base their decision on a person's credit score, but use an algorithm that predicts success and future income, and they grant loans, even larger scale loans apparently, to start small businesses and such. I mean, this seems like it could potentially be a LOT more effective than these horrible high interest title loans or payday loans that are sometimes unfortunately the 'only' options that are offered to people with lower income and not so good credit. But, it's also via the internet...which seems like it could potentially cause problems.
So much has been said about free money and people still don’t learn the lessons that come with these kinds of schemes. First you have to check if the scheme is real and legit so that you don’t get scammed. And if it is for real, have you stopped to ask what is in for the lender. He is definitely not in this business for charity sake. All I am trying to say is that ensure you should shine your eyes, look before you leap and a scheme of this nature is not the one that you start searching for all over the net if it is legit.
Those Facebook-based loans are not worth to take because sounds fishy. Good credit? Bad credit? No credit history? Don't worry! Sign up with your Facebook account and based on feedback we get from your FB friends we are going to lend you money! Since these are "small scale loans" may look credible, but tell me, since when is Facebook an authoritative service to verify someone's identity and honesty? You may have a thousand FB friends and all of them might be lying about their names, location and else. How is this information to endorse you and secure the supposed loan you are going to receive?
Would Facebook even bother about small-scale loans? Moreover, would they really loan money to complete strangers without verifying their identity or is there a mechanism through which they screen people before approving their loan applications? Regardless of the authenticity of these loans, they're not practical. I don't think Facebook has sanctioned any such program. This could be the work of a seasoned scammer.
They sound fishy and I wouldn't even dream of getting near those shady deals. Facebook and Twitter has been bombarded with scams and pyramiding companies lately so everyone should be on their guard when they're on social media sites because you never know when a scammer will target you. Always follow the rule of thumb when it comes to business. When it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. This applies to investing and loans as well.
If Facebook was to start loaning money to anyone then I'm sure that they do what any financial institution would do. Unless your Facebook "friends" act as guarantors. So since few people would want to take any risks I think getting a loan from Facebook wouldn't be as easy as they want to make it sound. I tried to find something that would provide more details about these small scale loans from FB and Twitter and couldn't find anything. Maybe it was a hoax?
I wouldnt be involved in anything like that. Borrowing momey is just a bad idea in general. Unless you are completely broke or need to repair your car its best to just keep your head down and work hard to dig your way out of the situation and achieve economic security. Facebook wouldnt be smart to give out loans without credit checks.
I wouldn't even give out my real name to people offering to lend money on Facebook, let alone all of the personal and business information they are going to ask for next. Small Business loans are hard to get for a very good reason. If the algorithms that the banks use to lend to you via the Small Business Association (which is a guaranteed loan program) doesn't think you are a good risk than the best thing to do is find an Angel. Someone to loan money for shares in the business. Yes, the terms may not be what you are looking for but you and the Angel share the risk so he or she is usually very interested in your success. A bank or high risk credit lender is not.
You're making it sound as if these Facebook and Twitter marketing campaigns won't be charging excessive interest rates. Aside from it sounding dodgy from the start, I can't imagine any organization wanting to provide loans to people they know nothing about, have no relationship with, and don't know their track record. A very basic banking principle is "Know Your Client" - there's no way that a simple algorithm will provide all the details on your ability and willingness to pay back a loan. Be wary of Greeks bearing gifts.
As I already said before, it's pretty shady. I mean, how is this even possible? Or is this small-scale loan system similar to crowdsourcing except that the borrower has to pay back the amount loaned to him/her by various individuals? What's funny about this small-scale loan system is that it's pretty informal. People with unhinged minds might take advantage and the creditor may end up losing a lot.
This is to warn you of transactions in Facebook. Scams are prevalent and I have some Facebook friends who have already lost money. One is Money Three where your investment will be times 3 but in effect you will lose all your investment. Another is Kalyeserye where you put in 1,000 and receive 1,400 if you are lucky. So I guess we should be careful in dealing with Facebook schemes involving money.
@HunkyDoire I have seen these loans on facebook. However, I see a big problem here. Not everybody uses their true identity on facebook and therefore this can prove to be a problem due to the number of bad loans. It can also end leaving a lot of people in debt with more debt.
I would be very careful about entertaining suspicious offers for loans like that. This is no different from SMS that I receive from time to time telling me that a bank is offering credit cards with zero percent interest for a limited time period or that I can avail of a loan by simply texting my full name. These tricks are intended to obtain personal information that they can use for a variety of purposes which aren't always legal. There have been many scam cases stemming from identity theft. Though you may have a less that ideal credit score, scammers can use your identity to obtain loans from credit companies that grant credit at higher interest rate than what you would normally get from banks.
I have seen those loan apps and their interests are super high. although I have a couple of times been tempted to take the loans since they are so easy to take and I haven't. mostly because I am more sensitive about losing money than ever.
I'm with the people who think facebook loans are a scam, because a social site is a social site and not a financial institution, so be careful not to click on it. If it has a name, jot it down and ask your bank about it. There are consolidation loans to help you, which also you can ask your financial institution about because you'd like to repay your loans, but may have gotten into a rough patch. My Uncle was a loan officer at a bank locally. He said always when you can't make the minimum payment talk to your lender, see what you can work out, because you would like to repay the loan, but just in a rough patch. Take care not to trust too many what we call, "it it's too good to be true, it usually is, " situations. Good luck!
Never heard of this to be honest but I would be careful about it. Unless it is a big company, don't share your details with anyone promising short term loans. I wonder how the big companies decide whether someone is good enough or trustworthy enough to offer a loan to? They probably use your details like education, previous workplaces and social activity although all of these could easily be modified and faked on Facebook.
I am just hearing about stat up loans being offered to persons with bad credit on Facebook and Twitter through this thread. I don't quite get it how they use their algorithm correctly to predict success with the loan without assessing the person's credit score. What if the calculations went wrong. Well I won't be in a hurry to apply for such loans.
This is not being negative but any online transaction involving money is always suspect to me. Scams are everywhere, you know. But with those loans, the site is the one who would release the money and the risk is on them. Am I right on this? And if that is so then maybe we can check and try it for ourselves. The so called micro lending is thriving in Metro Manila because it is easy to avail of unlike a loan from a bank that would entail so many requirements. Now if this Facebook loan is real then that would be great for people who need money for their business.