[turnkey888]

Hi Everyone!

As you can see, this is my first post, and please be gentle if I sound like an idiot or out of touch with things. I only wish I had known of this forum sooner ... maybe I would have learned a less expensive lesson.

On LinkedIn, there are several groups devoted to Merchant Cash Advance Leads, Lead Brokers/Sellers, etc. And as a new broker in the business, imagine my GLEE when I saw posts representing real-time leads, fresh MCA leads .... directly from major companies:

Kabbage
SnapCap
Nerdwallet
Lending Club
NAV
OnDeck
etc.

I have a 100 seat call center setup and when one of the lead sellers sent me headers showing very detailed info, I thought I had hit the gold mine ... the catch ... "since the data is so inexpensive (relatively) fresh and from the big players, you must pay by wire or bank deposit". They said they have this "deal" with these companies, and that they had access to over 100,000 fresh leads a week.

With them promoting on a credible site like "LinkedIn", and touting the companies listed above, how could I lose? Would someone be so stupid as to commit this kind of scam on LinkedIn ... using the names of major MCA players?

The short answer ... "Hell Yeah!"

One week into cold calling these "fresh" leads, I was met with the horror and reality that we had been ripped a new one. We got a host of responses:

"I never completed an app at __________ (fill in the blanks)"
"I'm gonna call the FBI .... someone must have stolen my data"
"___________ is scamming people and using my name to do it"
"He quit working here over 7 years ago"
"That business shut down in 05"
"I'm gonna report those guys and sue your asses for GDPR violations"
etc. ,etc. etc.

And then, we decided to run an IP Geo-Location test... and that is the final nail in the coffin. Not a single IP matched the city, state or region of the so called signup. The IP's were from India, China, Canada, Israel, Indonesia, Boeing Corp. Department of Defense, etc, etc.

A call to Kabbage, SnapCap, etc., confirmed. It is a total fraud and although they received calls from people threatening to sue them for "stealing their identities and other accusations, they had no idea what was going on ... till now.

So now, I am in one pickle of a mess. They are asking me to send them the data we bought, and suggesting that the FBI get involved. But they needed the details that brokers like me could share to help stop the fraud.

I understand that this is my first post, and that many may call me an idiot ... and that's fair. But how would you proceed with something like this?

After any brutal remarks on gullibility and such, what is the best course of action?

Thank You In Advance for any advice.

And again, I am so happy to have found this forum. I hope to be able to do business with here with legitimate providers and I apologize in advance for my first post being like this. BTW, I also posted this to one other forum because I really want informed advice on this as fast as I can get it.

[WestCoastFunding]

Personally, from the get go, I would have cut my losses and moved on. You just basically bought bad leads (and they are tons of bad lead companies out there). The biggest warning sign is them telling you that they have exclusive leads from a funder. That would be theft. Best to walk away once you hear that.

Now, do you send the info to them? It’s up to you. They probably arent thinking much of it.

Lastly, LinkedIn is basically social media. Nothing on social media is trustworthy. From now on deal with registered companies.

[Michael I]

Personally, from the get go, I would have cut my losses and moved on. You just basically bought bad leads (and they are tons of bad lead companies out there). The biggest warning sign is them telling you that they have exclusive leads from a funder. That would be theft. Best to walk away once you hear that.

Now, do you send the info to them? It’s up to you. They probably arent thinking much of it.

Lastly, LinkedIn is basically social media. Nothing on social media is trustworthy. From now on deal with registered companies.

exactly . lesson learned

[ridextreme]

If someone had so many great awesome leads, why wouldn't they just submit and fund them themselves? They would make 100x more than if they sold them. So if something sounds too good to be true, it's usually BS.

[Don Dolla]

Identify the individual if you can from LinkedIn. Chances are they are foreigners. But If not file a civil suit and obtain a judgment. Welcome to mca! Your first clawback / backstab ... more to come

[turnkey888]

Personally, from the get go, I would have cut my losses and moved on. You just basically bought bad leads (and they are tons of bad lead companies out there). The biggest warning sign is them telling you that they have exclusive leads from a funder. That would be theft. Best to walk away once you hear that.

Now, do you send the info to them? It’s up to you. They probably arent thinking much of it.

Lastly, LinkedIn is basically social media. Nothing on social media is trustworthy. From now on deal with registered companies.

Agree 100%

[turnkey888]

If someone had so many great awesome leads, why wouldn't they just submit and fund them themselves? They would make 100x more than if they sold them. So if something sounds too good to be true, it's usually BS.

I wish I had thought that way at the time, and I offer no excuses. Just hope I can salvage things and hope that others avoid these too good to be true deals

[turnkey888]

Identify the individual if you can from LinkedIn. Chances are they are foreigners. But If not file a civil suit and obtain a judgment. Welcome to mca! Your first clawback / backstab ... more to come

Thanks

[WestCoastFunding]

MCAs are a full-contact sport. This won’t come close to being the last time you’ll have to deal with bull****. And, quite honestly, this is small potatoes as far as schemes. This is but a tiny scam compared to the stuff that you’ll see from some merchants. As awful as this experience was, tomorrow’s will be worse.

But, if you can withstand the initial lumps during the learning process, you can make some good money.

[turnkey888]

MCAs are a full-contact sport. This won’t come close to being the last time you’ll have to deal with bull****. And, quite honestly, this is small potatoes as far as schemes. This is but a tiny scam compared to the stuff that you’ll see from some merchants. As awful as this experience was, tomorrow’s will be worse.

But, if you can withstand the initial lumps during the learning process, you can make some good money.

I don't intend on giving up at all. Life has made me as tough as nalls ... but this LinkedIn stuff really put my head in a spin because it was totally unexpected and because of the money I lost ... I know that sometimes you win ... sometimes you learn. And learn, I have ... Thank you for the encouragement .

[Michael I]

A call to Kabbage, SnapCap, etc., confirmed. It is a total fraud and although they received calls from people threatening to sue them for "stealing their identities and other accusations, they had no idea what was going on ... till now.

So now, I am in one pickle of a mess. They are asking me to send them the data we bought, and suggesting that the FBI get involved. But they needed the details that brokers like me could share to help stop the fraud.

I understand that this is my first post, and that many may call me an idiot ... and that's fair. But how would you proceed with something like this?



t.

even if it was from one of them you realize that they will never admit they sell their data or have a backdoor leak.
advice is move on and take the loss. How much are we talking about here? It is safe to say that 90% of us have lost ten of thousands of dollars on bad lead sources over the years . last piece of advice is only pay by cc as most legitimate companies have no issue with it

[LJH365]

2 things:

1. THANK YOU for posting this here- it just might save someone else from the same expensive (and potentially business closing) headache.

2. The only thing worth spending time on would be to identify the seller. IF he is in US. And even that is a maybe.

Depending on the financial loss, you might want to use it as a lesson and move onwards and upwards. There are good and helpful people on this board here. Just make sure you vet anyone in future. Make sure they have a fair amount of posts (and read them). Don't deal with anyone who uses a gmail address, has a crappy looking website (or no website at all) or promises you the moon. And my own personal policy is to avoid people who type/write/speak like they dropped out of school in 8th grade.

Feel free to DM/email anytime in future if you have any questions. I'd be glad to offer any guidance I can.

[turnkey888]

even if it was from one of them you realize that they will never admit they sell their data or have a backdoor leak.
advice is move on and take the loss. How much are we talking about here? It is safe to say that 90% of us have lost ten of thousands of dollars on bad lead sources over the years . last piece of advice is only pay by cc as most legitimate companies have no issue with it

Michael ... I received 3 calls today ... and they all are VERY interested in what is going on and escalated the issue in a big way (especially SnapCap). It was around $5K involved, which may not be a lot for some members here, but it still kinda stung a bit :-) I'll recover though and move on. It's gonna take a lot more than this to discourage me ... Thanks!

[turnkey888]

2 things:

1. THANK YOU for posting this here- it just might save someone else from the same expensive (and potentially business closing) headache.

2. The only thing worth spending time on would be to identify the seller. IF he is in US. And even that is a maybe.

Depending on the financial loss, you might want to use it as a lesson and move onwards and upwards. There are good and helpful people on this board here. Just make sure you vet anyone in future. Make sure they have a fair amount of posts (and read them). Don't deal with anyone who uses a gmail address, has a crappy looking website (or no website at all) or promises you the moon. And my own personal policy is to avoid people who type/write/speak like they dropped out of school in 8th grade.

Feel free to DM/email anytime in future if you have any questions. I'd be glad to offer any guidance I can.

I was SO relieved to read the comments from you all. I thought that I would get drug through the mud for this bonehead mistake. It is indeed a lesson learned, but I have also received words of encouragement and even a couple of sources that appear to be very legit here.

1- My goal exactly. Hopefully this will help others.
2- Agreed

Your advice is well taken. I will never do this again. I just couldn't believe the nerve of these guys. I know that in this business, or any other, is not for the weak hearted or the meek, that prosper. I am going to use this as my springboard and rise above it all.

Thanks everyone for your advice, suggestions, PM's and for understanding. I really, REALLY appreciate that!

PS - I'm gonna take you up on your offer if I ever need a bit of help, guidance ... OR a kick in the butt :-)