GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan. — If you're like me, you often don’t answer calls from numbers you don’t recognize. But when an unfamiliar number leaves a voicemail, I usually give it a listen.
Now, there's a warning about a voicemail scam from a fake loan processor that’s making the rounds. In fact, more than 1,500 reports of this very voicemail have been filed with the Better Business Bureau. Nakia Mills, with the BBB of Michigan, even received the voicemail herself.
According to Nakia, the “loan processor” typically goes by the name Jessica or Evelyn. In the voicemail, the caller asks victims to return the call to verify loan information—but the real goal is to collect sensitive information like bank account details and Social Security numbers, or to pressure people into paying an up-front fee for a loan that doesn’t exist.
“When you work with a loan, once you fill it out, you're assigned a loan officer or someone. They don’t just suddenly have someone out of the blue contact you—someone you've never heard of and from a company you've never heard of,” Mills said.
So, what are the main red flags to watch out for? First, if you haven’t recently applied for a loan, this is almost certainly a scam.
Additionally, according to Mills, the voicemail itself contains cues that should raise suspicion. Most of the reported messages start mid-sentence, often skipping over the name of the company or the caller. A legitimate company will make sure its contact information is clearly stated.
Lastly, like most scams, this one involves urgency. If the message pressures you to act quickly—or threatens that your loan will expire—that’s a major red flag.
As a reminder, Mills says the BBB of Michigan has a Scam Tracker, which is useful not only for reporting scams, but also as a tool to see if others have received a similar call or text.
