At Lending Club, we're committed to your financial security. We believe the success of the marketplace is tied to your financial safety and strive to exceed industry standards for privacy and security. You also play a crucial role in safeguarding your information.
How to protect yourself from scams
Scammers often try to trick consumers by pretending to be employees of financial companies like Lending Club. If someone contacts you asking for information or offering a service, be aware that:
- We will never email you to collect your bank account number, credit card information, Social Security number, or date of birth.
- We will never ask you to download software in an email.
- We will never call or email you to confirm or change your password.
- We will never call you and ask for your credit card or debit card information.
- We will never call or email you to ask for an advance fee in exchange for a loan or payment plan.
If you have concerns about whether an email or phone call that seems like it's from Lending Club is legitimate, you can always contact us at 888-596-3157 to make sure. To learn more about how we protect your financial information, review our Privacy Policy.
Advance fee and broker fee scams
Advance fee scams, a type of consumer fraud, are becoming increasingly common. Scammers ask for money up front, in exchange for the “promise” of a loan that they never deliver. At Lending Club, we never ask you to pay ANY fees up front before you receive your loan. And no loan broker or other service is authorized to charge a fee on our behalf.
Advance fee scammers often target people with poor credit who have recently been declined for a loan, and offer them a large loan at a low rate. Here's how these scams work:
- You receive a call or email from a company that you have never contacted, offering you a loan with attractive terms. The person contacting you may say they're from a major financial services company, such as Lending Club.
- To obtain the loan, they instruct you to purchase a prepaid debit card (frequently a Green Dot® prepaid card or Vanilla Visa® gift card) for several hundred dollars, which they claim will be used to deposit your loan.
- They will then ask you for the card number to verify the account and transfer the loan funds to you. But they never have any intention of providing you with a loan. Instead, they use the card number to withdraw the funds you have deposited on the card.
- In some cases, they will also request additional fees to resolve alleged problems they have encountered with your social security number, credit report or outstanding issues with the I.R.S.
Remember, if a loan offer comes out of the blue and seems too good to be true, it probably is.
The good news is that you can protect yourself against an advance fee scam by knowing what to look for and taking simple precautions.
- Don't pay money for the “promise” of a loan. Ignore any advertisem*nt or hang up on any cold caller who “guarantees” a loan in exchange for a fee paid in advance.
- Be aware that Lending Club does not work with loan brokers. Anyone who wants to charge you a broker fee to facilitate a loan through Lending Club is likely to be a scammer.
- Remember that it is very uncommon for a lender to guarantee that you will receive a loan before you apply, especially if you have bad credit or no credit history at all. Lenders will almost always check your credit status before offering you a loan.
- Beware of anyone who pressures you to “act immediately” by sending money or personal information.
- Never send money, whether by prepaid debit card, wire or money order, before you receive the actual proceeds of the loan. Most lenders won't ask you to send funds in advance, and you will have little to no protection if you do.
- Always make sure you are dealing with a reputable company before you give out sensitive financial information. If you have any suspicions, get the company's contact information directly from their website and call them to make sure you're dealing with the company you think you're dealing with. You can also check their website for information about common scams. In the past, some scammers have pretended to be the Better Business Bureau or another legitimate organization.
If you are a victim of an advance fee scam
If you believe you're a victim of an advance fee scam by someone pretending to be a Lending Club employee, take the following steps immediately:
- Do NOT provide account information for a prepaid debit card to an unknown caller. Lending Club will never request this information from you.
- Call Member Support immediately at 888-596-3157. We can verify the identity of Lending Club employees.
- File a complaint for internet-related fraud with the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
- Report the scam to your state's Attorney General.
Identity theft
Scammers may also try to steal your identity by gathering your personal or financial information and using it for their own gain. For example, they might charge a new television on your credit card or try to get a loan or open a credit card in your name.
Criminals can get the information they need to assume your identity in a variety of ways, such as:
- Stealing your wallet
- Rifling through your trash
- Stealing your credit card or bank information
- Approaching you in person, by telephone, or on the internet and tricking you into giving them your information
You can minimize your risk by following these simple tips:
- Shred ATM receipts, credit statements, credit cards, and bank statements before you throw them away.
- Never give your credit card number over the telephone unless you make the call.
- Review your bank account and credit card statements monthly. Notify your bank or credit card company of any unauthorized transactions.
- Review a copy of your credit report at least once each year. Alert the credit bureau in writing of any questionable transactions, making sure to follow-up until they are removed.
- Keep a list of telephone numbers to call to report the loss or theft of your wallet.
For more information, check out this video made by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a government organization that is in charge of protecting American consumers. It provides some useful tips on how to prevent identity theft.
If you are a victim of identity theft
If you are concerned that identity theft has occurred in connection with Lending Club, you should:
- Call Member Support immediately at 888-596-3157.
- Contact one of the three major bureaus and ask that they put a fraud alert on your credit report. The first bureau is required to contact the other bureaus to place the alert on all your files. You can contact the three major credit bureaus here:
- Equifax: 800-525-6285
- Experian: 888-397-3742
- TransUnion: 800-680-7289
We're here for you
Remember, you are the first line of defense in protecting yourself against identity theft and consumer fraud. But if you need us, we are always here. Please contact Member Support by email with concerns, comments or questions or call us toll free at 888-596-3157.
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