What are the red flags of this scam?

The lender appeared as a sponsored search result for 'personal loan Australia' or 'bad credit loan' — scammers buy these ad placements to appear legitimate • After your application is 'approved', you are asked to pay a fee (called 'payment protection', 'loan insurance', or 'establishment fee') before any funds are released — real Australian lenders never do this • The scammer sends a formal-looking loan agreement with an ASIC licence number — verify that number yourself on ASIC's professional registers, and call the real business using a number you find yourself • You were asked to provide your myGov login details or banking app credentials as part of the application — no legitimate lender requires this • The fee must be paid by bank transfer or gift cards, not deducted from the loan proceeds — and the scammer insists it will be 'refunded after three months' • The email domain does not exactly match the lender's website URL, or the website has no physical Australian address or landline number

What should I do if this happened to me?

Never pay any fee before receiving loan funds — no legitimate Australian lender charges an upfront insurance or establishment fee before disbursing funds • Verify the lender's ASIC licence yourself: search at moneysmart.gov.au/financial-advice/check-before-you-invest and call the real business using a number you find on ASIC's register, not any number the scammer gives you • Never hand over your myGov login, banking credentials, or internet banking password to a loan application — this is identity theft, not due diligence • If you have already paid an upfront fee, call your bank immediately on the number on the back of your card to report fraud and request a recall — acting within hours improves the chance of recovery • If you shared identity documents (passport, driver's licence, Medicare card), contact IDCARE on 1800 595 160 for free expert identity recovery support • Report to Scamwatch at https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam or ReportCyber at https://www.cyber.gov.au/report.

HIGH loan Last reported: 19 Oct 2026 Share

A fake lending website approves your loan then demands an upfront fee you never get back

Q: Is this a scam?

Yes. This is a documented scam pattern. Scammers build fake lending websites and ads offering personal loans. They collect your ID, payslips, and myGov login, then demand an upfront "insurance" or "establishment" fee ($800–$5,400) before releasing the loan. No loan ever arrives. They may quote real ASIC licence numbers to appear legitimate.

Scammers build fake lending websites and ads offering personal loans. They collect your ID, payslips, and myGov login, then demand an upfront "insurance" or "establishment" fee ($800–$5,400) before releasing the loan. No loan ever arrives. They may quote real ASIC licence numbers to appear legitimate.

Also known as: fake personal loan scam Australia, advance fee loan fraud Australia, fake lending website Australia, loan establishment fee scam, fake loan broker Australia, ASIC impersonation loan scam

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.

What to do right now

1 Never pay any fee before receiving loan funds — no legitimate Australian lender charges an upfront insurance or establishment fee before disbursing funds
2 Verify the lender's ASIC licence yourself: search at moneysmart.gov.au/financial-advice/check-before-you-invest and call the real business using a number you find on ASIC's register, not any number the scammer gives you
3 Never hand over your myGov login, banking credentials, or internet banking password to a loan application — this is identity theft, not due diligence
4 If you have already paid an upfront fee, call your bank immediately on the number on the back of your card to report fraud and request a recall — acting within hours improves the chance of recovery
5 If you shared identity documents (passport, driver's licence, Medicare card), contact IDCARE on 1800 595 160 for free expert identity recovery support
6 Report to Scamwatch at https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam or ReportCyber at https://www.cyber.gov.au/report.

Red flags

⚠ The lender appeared as a sponsored search result for 'personal loan Australia' or 'bad credit loan' — scammers buy these ad placements to appear legitimate
⚠ After your application is 'approved', you are asked to pay a fee (called 'payment protection', 'loan insurance', or 'establishment fee') before any funds are released — real Australian lenders never do this
⚠ The scammer sends a formal-looking loan agreement with an ASIC licence number — verify that number yourself on ASIC's professional registers, and call the real business using a number you find yourself
⚠ You were asked to provide your myGov login details or banking app credentials as part of the application — no legitimate lender requires this
⚠ The fee must be paid by bank transfer or gift cards, not deducted from the loan proceeds — and the scammer insists it will be 'refunded after three months'
⚠ The email domain does not exactly match the lender's website URL, or the website has no physical Australian address or landline number

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

What to do right now

Red flags

Sources