"You're approved. We just need the insurance fee because of your credit."
That was the call. Calm voice. A first name. A dollar amount that sounded almost reasonable: $250. Insurance. Because of the credit. Then the money moves and the loan arrives.
Here's a hypothetical. Maya runs a two-chair nail salon. Cash was tight after a slow month and an MCA payment that hit harder than she wanted. She'd googled "business loan bad credit" once. That was enough. The caller already knew her first name and said the file was "pre-cleared." She sent $250, in gift card codes, the way they asked, and waited for the wire.
Two days later the same number called again. New ask. Because the loan was "originating out of state," she now owed $400 to "the state of Tennessee" before funds could release. Same calm voice. Same urgency. Same promise that this was the last step.
She hung up.
Maya is made up. The script is not.
That second fee is the giveaway. In an Oct. 7, 2026 "Protecting Your Money" segment on WKNO, Randy Hutchinson described a Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker complaint from a local consumer with the same cascade: he was told he was approved for a loan but needed to pay a $250 insurance fee because of his poor credit history. He paid. Then he was told he owed another $400 to the state of Tennessee because the loan was being originated out of state. That's when he realized it was a scam. There was no loan. There was no real state fee. The "state" charge was just a second invoice from the same scammers.
This is not the "you're preapproved, call us" text pattern. That one stops at the bait. This one gets you to pay, then invents a government-sounding surcharge so you pay again.
Founders who already feel behind on credit are the target. The FTC says advance-fee loan scammers go after people with bad credit or trouble getting a loan, and many buy lists of people who searched or applied online for loans. The script works because $250 feels small next to the funding you think you're about to get, and "the state" sounds like something you can't argue with.
Red flags
- They promise a loan (or say you're already approved) without knowing your credit history, then demand money first. The FTC says legitimate lenders don't do that.
- The up-front ask is labeled "insurance," "processing," or "paperwork" and must be paid before you get the loan. The FTC calls that a cue to walk away.
- They say paying the fee guarantees the loan. The FTC says nobody legit will tell you that.
- After you pay, a second fee appears, framed as a state, government, or "out-of-state" charge. That's exactly how the complaint in the WKNO segment played out. Treat it as fake.
- They push payment methods that are hard to reverse: gift cards, crypto, or wire transfers through companies like MoneyGram or Western Union. The FTC says scammers ask for these because it's tough to get your money back.
- The company isn't registered in your state. The FTC says lenders must register where they do business.
What to do
Hang up on loan calls about an application you don't remember submitting. Don't call unknown numbers back.
If you're tempted, do your research first. Search the company name and phone number with words like "review," "complaint," or "scam." Check the company with the BBB. Confirm it's registered with your state attorney general or banking or financial services regulator, using contact information you find yourself, not a number the caller gave you.
Don't pay for a promise. Any up-front fee for "insurance," "processing," or "paperwork" before you get the loan is the FTC's cue to walk away. Paying does not lock in funding.
Never share personal or financial information with unsolicited callers.
If you already paid, act fast. The FTC says that no matter how you paid, the sooner you act, the better. Contact the company you paid through (your bank, card issuer, gift card company, or wire service) right away.
Report it. File at ReportFraud.FTC.gov. Add a BBB Scam Tracker report. One consumer's Scam Tracker complaint is how this script reached the radio.
Imposter scams aren't a niche trick. People reported losing $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025, per FTC data. The fake "state fee" is an advance-fee scam wearing a government costume.
Sources:
- WKNO / Protecting Your Money, "Approved for a loan you never applied for? It could be a scam" (Oct. 7, 2026): https://www.wknofm.org/show/protecting-your-money/2026-10-07/approved-for-a-loan-you-never-applied-for-it-could-be-a-scam
- FTC, "What To Know About Advance-Fee Loans": https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-advance-fee-loans
- FTC, "FTC Data Show People Reported Losing $3.5 Billion to Imposter Scams in 2025" (June 15, 2026): https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/06/ftc-data-show-people-reported-losing-3-point-5-billion-imposter-scams-2025