Briarcliffe Financial Group contacted me by phone and faxed me a contract for a secured personal loan for $15,000 but I received no money and lost the security deposit the claimed the "Broker" required to secure the loan White Plains New York

i HAVE BEEN OFFERED THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF LOANS AND CREDIT CARDS BY RIP-OFF ARTISTS LIKE THIS --AND THEY HAVE ANOTHER SCHEME WHERE THEY TELL YOU THAT YOU HAVE WON A CASH PRIZE OR A LOTTERY OR A LUXURY CAR AND YOU WILL HAVE TO SEND THEM A DEPOSIT TO PAY TAXES ON THE WINNINGS.

AND THEN THERE IS THE EVER POPULAR ON E WHERE THEY SEND YOU A CHECK --A FAKE CHECK OR A STOLEN CHECK -- AND YOU HAVE TO DEPOSIT IT IN YOUR ACCOUNT AND SEND THEM SO MUCH FROM THAT CHECK TO COVER THE FOWARDING FEE OR SOME MADE UP NONSENSE.

THE INTERNET SCAMMERS NEVER STOP AND THESE MIGHT BE SENT TO YOU IN THE REGULAR MAIL TOO.

IT IS A SCAM,SCAM,SCAM. DO NOT PAY A FEE UP FRONT TO BORROW MONEY,SECURE A CREDIT CARD, PAY A DEPOSIT ON A CHECK THAT YOU NEVER EARNED OR ANY MONEY IN CONNECTION WITH SOMETHING YOU ALLEGEDLY WON WHEN YOU NEVER ENTERED ANYTHING AND EVEN IF YOU DID BE CAREFUL THAT YOU DON'T PAY ANYTHING UP FRON BECAUSE AFTER ALL YOU WON IT FREE AND CLEAR --EMPHASIS ON THE WORD FREE. THAT MEANS YOU DON'T PAY ANYTHING.

AND THIS OLD SCAM HAS BEEN AROUND AS LONG AS MY GRANDPARENTS AND PROBABLY GREAT- GRANDPARENTS HAVE BEEN AROUND.

CONSIDER THIS RIP-OFF TUITION IN THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS AND RESOLVE NOT TO EVER LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU AGAIN.

YOU MIGHT TRY CONTACTING THE CONSUMER FRAUD DIVISION OF YOUR STATE'S ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE... IF IT WAS SENT TO YOU BY FEDERAL MAIL, REPORT IT TO THE POSTMASTER AND THE FBI,

IN ANY CASE, GOOD LUCK GETTING YOUR MONEY BACK.

The same thing happened to me, I also spoke with Jason Richardson and Frank Reivera. I also filed a report here. I am trying to see if there is anything that we can do to get out money back. The more people that this happened to the more power we have to fight it.

When applying for CONSUMER credit/loans it is absolutely ILLEGAL to require a security deposit/prepayments of any type for the purpose of securing the credit/loan.

Any outfit that requires a fee for a personal loan, credit card, etc. as a REQUIREMENT for credit approval is violating federal law.

This is one of the issues that Hargrave & Associates is experiencing as a result of the way they offered credit cards to folks with poor or little credit histories.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/telemarketing/tel16.shtm
Advance-Fee Loan Scams: Easy' Cash Offers Teach Hard Lessons

A quick internet search would have prevented this - but you chose not to check it out first.

Advance-Fee Loan Scams: Easy' Cash Offers Teach Hard Lessons
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/telemarketing/tel16.shtm
The link is to the Federal Trade Commission website

Next time take a minute to check things out on the internet before you jump into these types of bogus offers - the info is out there - you DID NOT BOTHER TO LOOK!