Quick answer
Fake online lenders typically ask for upfront fees or insurance before releasing funds, pressure you to act quickly, request payment to personal bank accounts, guarantee approval regardless of circumstances and can't be found on ASIC's registers. Protect yourself by checking the business independently, calling on numbers you've found yourself, never paying to unlock a loan and reporting anything suspicious to Scamwatch.
Key points
- Genuine lenders don't ask for payment before releasing loan funds.
- Check any lender on ASIC's registers and contact them on details you source yourself.
- Pressure, secrecy and personal bank accounts are major red flags.
- If you've shared details, contact your bank, change passwords and call IDCARE.
- Biggest red flag
- Upfront fee to release funds
- Check
- ASIC professional registers
- Report
- Scamwatch
- Identity help
- IDCARE 1800 595 160
Why are online loan scams so common?
Because the things that make online lending convenient — no branch, quick forms, digital documents — are the same things scammers imitate. A business owner who needs money quickly, who’s expecting a call from a lender, and who’s used to doing everything on a phone is exactly who scammers target. The good news is that loan scams follow recognisable patterns, and a few simple habits stop almost all of them.
The warning signs, according to Scamwatch and Moneysmart
Scamwatch’s March 2026 alert on loan scams describes a pattern that keeps repeating: an offer of a loan, a request for personal details and identification documents, and then a demand for an “insurance” payment or fee that must be paid before the loan funds can be released — sometimes with a promise that the payment will be refunded later. Payments are often directed to personal bank accounts. The providers typically don’t appear on ASIC’s registers.
Moneysmart’s guidance on scam websites adds more signs to watch for:
- claims that seem too good to be true, such as guaranteed approval;
- reviews that all sound oddly similar;
- staff photos that look like stock images or are AI-generated;
- no licensing information where you’d expect it;
- no physical address or phone number, only a web form or messaging app;
- a recently created website.
The red-flag table
| Red flag | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| “Pay a fee to release your funds” | Genuine lenders don’t make funding conditional on a payment to them first |
| Payment to a personal account | Businesses receive payments in business accounts |
| “Guaranteed approval, any credit” | No genuine lender can promise that without assessing you |
| Pressure to decide today | Urgency is a core scam tactic |
| Contact only by text or messaging app | Real businesses have phones and addresses |
| Can’t be found on ASIC’s registers | Legitimate finance businesses can be checked |
| Asks for your banking password | Statement links never need your password shared |
| Unexpected e-signing request | Only sign documents you were told to expect |
Five checks to run on any online lender
- Search ASIC’s registers. ASIC’s professional registers let you look up people and organisations registered or licensed to provide financial services, and its company and business name registers confirm a business exists.
- Search the name with “scam” or “review”. Look for warnings, not just praise.
- Cross-check contact details. Compare the phone number and address with business directories and maps.
- Call on a number you found yourself. Not one from a text or email.
- Never pay to unlock a loan. Fees belong in loan documents, not in a bank transfer before funding.
If you’re dealing with us, you can call 03 9072 0200 or contact us here. We will never ask you to pay a fee before a loan is funded.
Payment redirection: the scam that targets businesses
Scamwatch warns small businesses about scammers who pretend to be a supplier, a colleague or a familiar organisation and send invoices with altered payment details, or ask for urgent transfers. With loans, a version of this can appear at settlement — an email claiming the lender’s bank details have changed. Always confirm any change to payment details by calling a known number. Turn on multi-factor authentication for your email and banking; it’s one of the simplest protections there is.
What should you do if you’ve been caught?
Scamwatch’s guidance is to act quickly:
- Contact your bank straight away if you’ve paid money or shared banking details.
- Change passwords on your email, banking and any affected accounts.
- Monitor your accounts for unfamiliar activity.
- Call IDCARE on 1800 595 160 if you’ve shared personal or identity information — it’s Australia’s national identity and cyber support service.
- Report it to Scamwatch so others can be warned.
Being scammed is not a reflection of your intelligence. These operations are professional and persuasive. Reporting helps stop the next one.
Protecting the business beyond loan scams
Loan scams are one part of a wider picture. The same habits protect you against invoice fraud, fake supplier emails and account takeovers:
- Turn on multi-factor authentication for email, banking, accounting software and ATO access.
- Keep devices updated, including phones used for business banking.
- Limit who can change payment details in your accounting and banking systems, and require a second check for changes.
- Train anyone who handles payments to pause and verify unusual requests.
- Back up important records, so a compromised device doesn’t take your files with it.
None of these are complicated, and together they make your business a much harder target.
How genuine online lending stays safe
Legitimate online lending relies on secure, consent-based tools: read-only bank statement links, proper digital ID checks and audited e-signing. You’ll know who you’re dealing with, you’ll be able to call them, and fees will be set out in writing before you sign. If you’d like to see what that looks like, start a genuine enquiry — no fee, no credit check to ask.
Illustrative example: the “insurance bond” text
Illustrative only. A café owner receives a text offering an approved business loan “subject to a refundable insurance bond”. The sender asks for her licence photo and a payment to a personal account. She searches the business name, finds no ASIC registration and several warnings, and deletes the message. She reports it to Scamwatch and later enquires with a lender she found and checked herself.
Borrow with confidence, not pressure
A genuine business loan enquiry should feel calm: no fees to ask, no pressure, a real person you can call back. Ours takes about a minute online, involves no credit check, and is handled by one team — your details aren’t sent around a ring of lenders.
Please fill in the form accurately, and if anything about a call or email ever feels wrong, ring us on our listed number before you act. Start a safe online enquiry.
Frequently asked questions
Do genuine lenders ever ask for an upfront fee?
A genuine lender may charge establishment or other fees, but they're disclosed in the loan documents and usually deducted from the loan or paid after settlement. Being asked to pay money to release funds is a classic scam.
How do I check if a lender is real?
Search ASIC's registers, search the business name with the word scam, compare contact details across independent sources, and call on a number you've found yourself rather than one they gave you.
What if I've already paid or sent ID?
Contact your bank immediately, change passwords, monitor your accounts and contact IDCARE on 1800 595 160 for identity support. Report the scam to Scamwatch.
Can scammers copy a real lender's website?
Yes. Check the web address carefully, be wary of links in unexpected messages and contact the business through details you find independently.
How does eBusiness Loan contact me?
By phone or email after you submit an enquiry. We'll never ask you to pay a fee to unlock a loan. If in doubt, call us on 03 9072 0200.