The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers about two companies that claim to be Louisville-based businesses, but they are actually scams. Consumers across the country are contacting the BBB of Louisville, Southern Indiana, and Western Kentucky to inquire about these “companies.”

JC Henning

BBB has received over 100 inquiries on JC Henning, Inc from across the country. These scammers prey on the unemployed.  They have a professional looking website at www.jchenninginc.com that features a photo of the corporate headquarters at 1605 Stevens Avenue, Louisville, KY 40205. BBB found a parking lot at that address! This phony work-at-home company promises consumers $3,000 a month plus commissions to be a “Profit Monitoring Agent” or “Profit Manager” who handles check routing. The scammers ask their “employees” to deposit a check, keep part of the money as commission, and wire the balance, which could be thousands of dollars, to someone who they say is an investor. Later, the “employee” finds out it was all a scam, the check was fake, and now the person owes the bank the money they wired. Some consumers who have contacted the BBB say they were contacted by the scam artists after they posted their resumes online. The BBB believes the Web site is hosted out of Beijing. BBB knows from experience how this scam will work:

• “Accepting fund transfers” appears to mean that the scammers will send the newly-hired “Profit Monitoring Agent” or “Profit Manager” one or more bogus/counterfeit/forged checks, undoubtedly for several thousand dollars.

• Arranging for the “transfer of further funds to investors” is a nice way of saying, “wire money to a scammer somewhere in the world so we can steal your money.”

• The “employee” will be instructed to deposit the check, get cash from the account, retain part of the payment as “commission,” and wire most of the amount to the “investor” (aka, scammer).

• No doubt, the investor/scammer will pick up the money at a Western Union or MoneyGram office located somewhere outside the United States.

The scammers hope the “newly hired employee” will wire the money – and it happens all too frequently – before their “employee’s” bank discovers the check is counterfeit.

Scanlon Lending Group

Scanlon Lending Group also has a professional looking website at www.scanlonlendinggroup.com. This website, which is hosted out of Ontario, Canada, claims the company does business at 400 W. Market Street, Suite 1205, Louisville, Ky., 40202. This address is located in the AEGON Center, which is managed by a company called Hines Management, who confirms the suite number, 1205, does not exist in the building and they have no tenant by the name of “Scanlon Lending Group.” The company is an ‘advance fee loan scam’ that pre-approves consumers for a loan, but asks for collateral up front. One consumer told the BBB that she was supposed to get a $5,000 loan at 7% interest, to be paid back with monthly payments, but she was asked for $875 up front to secure the loan. The scammers wanted her to wire the money. Truth is, once the consumer wired the money, she would have never gotten the loan, and would be asked for more money for reasons such as “a lower credit score than expected.” Fact! The only goal of this non-existent business is to steal as much money as they can by convincing consumers to wire funds to them.

BBB warns you should never pay an advance fee to secure a loan. Legitimate companies do not require an up-front payment.

Here are tips on how to avoid lending scams:

• Do not pay for the promise of a loan. It’s illegal for companies doing business by phone in the U.S. to promise you a loan and ask you to pay for it before they deliver.

• Ignore any ad — or hang up on any caller — that guarantees a loan in exchange for a fee in advance

• Remember that legitimate lenders never guarantee or say that you will receive a loan before you apply, or before they have checked out your credit status or contacted your references, especially if you have bad credit or no credit record

• Do not give your credit card, bank account, or Social Security number to someone you do not know!

• Do not wire money or send money orders for a loan through Western Union or similar companies. You have little recourse if there’s a problem with a wire transaction.

• If you are not absolutely sure who you are dealing with, get the company’s number in the phone book or from directory assistance, and call it to make sure you’re dealing with the legitimate company. Some scam artists have pretended to be the Better Business Bureau or another legitimate organization.

For more information contact the Better Business Bureau at 1-800-388-2222 or go to

www.bbb.org.

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