In most cases, applying for a loan online is a safe and quick way to get approved for a loan. Recently, however, some fraudsters have started using online payday loan applications to steal personal information, including bank account information.

Before filling out an application for a loan, follow these tips to prevent fraud and protect your personal information.

• Only apply for credit or loans from a trustworthy financial. Make sure you do your research on the company to make sure they are legitimate.
• Type a company’s website address directly into your Internet browser to make sure you are going to its official website. Some fraudsters create fake websites that look similar to a company’s real website, and use pop-ads to get you to these fake sites.
• Never enter your personal information into an online application that is not secure. A secure site will have a website address that begins with “https” instead of “http.”
• Never share your account information, or online and mobile banking username or password with anyone else.

If you get approved for a loan from another company, be sure you verify that the loan is legitimate.

• Before spending the money, ask how the funds were deposited. With this type of fraud, deposits are often made using fraudulent checks, and there may be a hold on the deposit while we verify that the deposit is legitimate.
• If the deposit turns out to be fraudulent and you begin receiving collection calls from the fraudsters, do not engage in conversation with them. Ask to receive any communication in writing, and hang up.
• Contact us immediately if you believe you have been the victim of fraud. We will work with you to investigate the issue and help you understand your options.