Growing Power - a Warning About WhatsApp Scam Messages

Unfortunately, we have been made aware of fraudulent activity using our brand name. It’s been reported that fraudsters claiming to work for Growing Power have been contacting members of the public on WhatsApp. Those targeted have been offered a loan or have been told that they’ve been approved for a loan; however, before they can receive the money, they will need to pay a processing or insurance fee – usually £50. Sadly, if the victim pays this initial fee, the fraudsters may then state that they need to send even more money. The ‘loan’ is never paid, and the victim is left out of pocket.

Growing Power is a credit broker, not a lender. Our service is free to use; we’ll never ask you to pay a fee or send us payment of any kind.

If you’ve applied at Growing Power in the past, or interacted with any of our other brands, we may contact you via email, text, or WhatsApp from time to time, but this will be to help you find a suitable loan. As a credit broker, we do not approve loans, we do not issue loans, and we will never contact you claiming to do so.

If you’ve received any messages that you’re unsure of, including phone calls or emails, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly Customer Care team, who are available from Monday to Friday, between 9am and 5pm (excluding bank holidays).

They will be happy to take a look at any messages you’ve received and confirm whether they’re authentic.

Here are some things you can do to help protect yourself from scams

• Read the message carefully – a genuine communication should not contain spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.
• Who has sent the communication? A financial services company will contact you using their registered trading name, rather than a random phone number.
• Be wary of companies with generic names such as UK LENDER.
• You can check to see if a company is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) by searching the register here.
• Even if the company name appears on the FCA register, stop, take a step back, and think very carefully – does it seem likely that a lender will offer you a loan on WhatsApp? If you have any doubts, visit their website directly and get in touch using the contact form.
• Never click on any links in a suspected scam message.
• A financial services company will never ask you to send them gift cards or shopping vouchers as part of a loan application.
• If in any doubt whatsoever, do not reply. You may also want to block the sender.
• You can find out more about cloning scams here.

If you’ve received a fraudulent message, we would urge you to contact Action Fraud as soon as possible. You can do this by clicking here.

If you have sent money to the scammers, you may also want to contact your bank to report the incident. They will be able to advise you of any steps that may be required to protect the security of your account.

Finally, you can unsubscribe from receiving any messaging from Growing Power by getting in touch with us using our contact form here.