Updated: May 16, 2016
Originally posted: April 27, 2016

The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) received a complaint indicating a representative from Glendale Financing called a consumer and informed her that she was approved for an $8,000.00 loan. The consumer was instructed to wire funds as collateral prior to receiving the loan. In addition, the consumer was told to wire extra funds because of her “bad credit score.” The consumer wired funds as instructed to “Chris Ravone” in Canada; however, she did not receive the loan.

The following information was contained in the report:

Entity named: Glendale Financing
700 New York Avenue
Huntington, New York 11743

Phone number: 1-855-744-9223

Those perpetrating this scam are not licensed by DFI nor registered to conduct business in Washington State by the Department of Licensing, the Department of Revenue, or the Secretary of State.

Verify Licenses

DFI strongly recommends that consumers deal only with those lenders that are properly licensed to conduct business. Consumers can determine whether lenders are properly licensed using the “Verify a License” feature on DFI’s website at www.dfi.wa.gov.

Report Fraud

If you are suspicious of unlicensed activity by a lender, report directly to your state regulator: find your state regulator(link is external).

If you feel you have been the victim of a loan scam please contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357) or online at www.ftc.gov(link is external); or contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (855) 411-CFPB or online atwww.consumerfinance.gov(link is external). Because the scammers have access to bank account information and social security numbers, victims should consider themselves victims of identity theft and take appropriate precautions. The Federal Trade Commission has information for victims of identity theft available online at www.ftc.gov(link is external).

If you feel you have been the victim of a loan scam involving the Internet please contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center online at www.ic3.gov(link is external).

If you feel you have been the victim of a loan scam and are concerned about your personal financial information, contact your banking institution, and the three major credit bureaus.