Fundivi Joins Business Loans IQ in the Fight Against Business Loan Scams

Business Loans IQ is expanding its fraud reporting program, and we are proud to share that Fundivi has joined the effort. Together, we are working to make it harder for fraudulent lenders and brokers to take advantage of business owners at the moment they can least afford it, and easier for those owners to report what happened, warn others and get back on track.

This is not a marketing campaign. It is a response to something we have watched grow for years. Every week, business owners come to Business Loans IQ looking for capital to cover payroll, restock inventory, replace equipment or simply keep the doors open through a slow season. Most of them find a legitimate path forward. Some arrive after they have already been targeted by a company that promised fast approval, collected a fee or their banking details, and disappeared. Our Report Fraud program exists to change that, and having a respected direct lender stand beside us makes the message stronger.

Why We Launched a Fraud Reporting Program

Business lending has changed enormously over the last decade. Online applications, faster underwriting and the growth of alternative financing have opened doors for millions of small businesses that traditional commercial lending once overlooked. That progress is real and it matters. But the same speed and convenience that help honest lenders serve owners quickly have also made it easier for bad actors to look legitimate.

A fraudulent operation today does not need an office or a license. It needs a polished website, a phone number, a convincing email address and an owner who is under pressure. Scammers know that a business facing a cash shortfall is more likely to accept an offer that arrives quickly, sounds generous and asks for a decision today. They copy the language, the paperwork and sometimes the exact logo of real lenders, so the offer feels routine right up to the moment the money is gone.

The damage goes well beyond the amount that was taken. An owner who loses a few thousand dollars to an advance fee scam also loses the weeks they could have spent securing real funding. Their bank statements, Social Security number and business details may now be in the hands of people who will reuse them. Many never report what happened because they feel embarrassed, and that silence is exactly what allows the same operation to move on to the next business.

Business Loans IQ is a comparison platform. We do not lend money, and we do not take applications for funding. What we do is help business owners understand their options and connect with lenders we have reviewed. That position gives us a clear view of how owners shop for funding and where they are most exposed, and it is why we built a place where they can report a fraudulent company and see which companies have already been verified as fraud.

Fundivi Joins the Effort

Fundivi is a direct business lender that offers working capital, revenue based financing, business term loans, lines of credit and other funding products to small and midsize businesses across the country. As a lender that works with business owners every day, Fundivi sees firsthand how much trust a funding relationship requires, and how quickly that trust can be broken when someone pretends to be a lender they are not.

Fundivi has joined our fraud fighting effort and fully supports the work behind the Report Fraud program. Its team brings the perspective of a lender that understands how legitimate funding actually works, from the documents a real underwriter asks for to the way a genuine offer is structured and delivered. That perspective helps us explain the difference between a real offer and a dangerous one more clearly, and it supports the review process our team follows before any company is listed.

You can learn more about Fundivi and the funding it offers at fundivi.com.

A Word from Steven

“Over the years we have seen a steady increase in business owners being targeted during the most sensitive moments of their business. They come looking for the capital they need to survive, and instead of getting access to it, some of them are scammed out of the only money they have left. That is not something we are willing to stand by and watch. Our fraud reporting program gives those owners a voice and gives everyone else a warning. Fundivi fully supports this movement, and having a lender of their standing join us sends a clear message to the people behind these schemes that business owners are no longer on their own.”

Steven Kay, Business Loans IQ

How Business Loan Scams Usually Work

The reports business owners share with us tend to follow a small number of patterns. Recognizing them is the single most effective way to avoid becoming the next victim.

The most common is the advance fee scam. An owner is approved quickly, often within minutes, and then told that an insurance fee, processing fee, collateral deposit or first payment must be paid before the funds can be released. Once the payment is made, a new fee appears, or the contact simply goes silent. A close cousin of this is the fake broker, who promises to shop a file to dozens of lenders and collects a success fee early, then never delivers an offer and in some cases never submits the application anywhere.

Lender impersonation has become more sophisticated. The scammer poses as a real, recognizable lender using a lookalike website, a slightly altered email domain, a copied logo and forged contracts. The business owner believes they are working with a known brand, while the real company has no record of them at all.

Other schemes are built to collect information rather than money. The application exists only to gather a Social Security number, an EIN, bank statements and online banking credentials, which are then sold or used for identity theft. Some owners discover unauthorized withdrawals from their account days after sharing banking details for what they were told was verification.

There are also schemes that play on the confusion of a busy week. In an overpayment trick, a deposit lands in the business account, usually from a bad check or a stolen account, and the owner is asked to send part of it back. The original deposit reverses and the money sent is gone. In a bait and switch, the offer an owner discussed is replaced at signing with a higher cost, a shorter term or a daily payment they never agreed to. And fake debt relief companies promise to settle existing advances, tell owners to stop paying their funders and to pay them instead, then do nothing while the business falls into default.

Warning Signs Every Business Owner Should Know

No single warning sign proves that a company is fraudulent, but each of the following is a reason to stop and verify before you send documents, sign anything or move money.

The clearest sign is a request for payment before funding. Legitimate lenders and brokers take their fees out of the loan proceeds at funding or build them into the cost of the financing, and those fees appear in the written agreement. A request to wire money, buy gift cards, send cryptocurrency or use a payment app before you receive funds is the hallmark of an advance fee scam.

Be cautious of guaranteed approval. Real business lending decisions are based on revenue, bank statements, time in business and other factors, so nobody can honestly promise approval before looking at your business. Pressure to act immediately is another red flag. An offer that expires within the hour, or a representative who discourages you from showing the contract to an accountant or attorney, is designed to stop you from thinking clearly.

Look closely at contact details. Free email accounts, a domain that is one letter away from a real company, or a phone number that does not appear on the official website all deserve a second look. Be wary of requests for your online banking username and password by email, text or phone prior to a funding call, rather than through a secure verification service. Watch for vague or missing paperwork, such as blank fields in the contract or fees that are explained verbally but never appear in writing. And be skeptical of any company with no verifiable footprint, meaning no state registration, no physical address, no named staff and a website that appeared very recently. Finally, an unsolicited message congratulating you on an approval for financing you never applied for should always be treated with suspicion.

What a Legitimate Lender Looks Like

It helps to know what normal looks like. A legitimate lender or broker is a registered business with a website, email domain and phone number that all match. It reviews your revenue and bank statements before making an offer, and it collects documents through a secure portal or a recognized bank verification service. It gives you time to read the agreement and compare other offers, and every number you were quoted, from the funding amount to the total payback and every fee, appears in writing before you sign.

Above all, a legitimate lender or broker does not ask you to send money before you are funded. If you remember only one thing from this article, remember that.

Before you apply anywhere, it is worth spending a few minutes understanding how a genuine review works. Our guide to what lenders actually look for walks through the factors a real underwriter considers, which makes it much easier to notice when an offer skips them entirely.

How the Report Fraud Program Works

The Report Fraud page on Business Loans IQ is built to be simple for business owners and careful in how it treats the companies being reported.

Any business owner who believes a lender or broker acted fraudulently can submit a report. The form asks for the name of the company, its website and email address if known, the person they dealt with and a brief description of what happened. Owners can also upload supporting documents such as contracts, emails, invoices, payment receipts or screenshots. If the company is one of the lenders already listed on our site, the form recognizes it as you type. If it is not, the owner can add it as a new company.

Every report is reviewed by our team. We read the details, look at the documents and may contact the owner by email if we need more information. A company is added to the public list of reported fraudulent lenders and brokers only when the evidence supports the report. Reports that cannot be verified are not published.

Privacy is built into the process. The identity of the person who reported a company, their contact details, their description of the incident and their documents are used for verification only. We never publish them, and we do not share them with the company being reported. The public list shows only the company name, its logo when available and its website.

What to Do If You Have Already Been Scammed

If you believe you have been scammed, act quickly. Some transfers can only be reversed within a short window, so every hour counts.

Call your bank first. Ask to dispute the transaction, recall any wire and block further debits from the company. If you shared your online banking login, change your credentials or ask your bank about opening a new account. Next, report what happened to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov and to your state Attorney General. If you shared your Social Security number, place a fraud alert or a credit freeze with the credit bureaus and keep an eye on your credit reports.

Save everything, including emails, texts, agreements, receipts, screenshots and phone numbers, even if it is upsetting to look at. Then submit a report through our Report Fraud page so we can review the company and warn other business owners. Business Loans IQ cannot recover lost funds, but your report can stop the same company from reaching someone else.

What This Means for Business Owners Comparing Funding

Fraud thrives on confusion, and the best defense is a clear picture of your options. When you compare offers side by side from lenders that have already been reviewed, it becomes much harder for a fraudulent company to look like the best deal in the room.

That is the reason Business Loans IQ exists. We review lenders before they appear on our site, using the standards described in how we vet lenders, and we make it simple to compare working capital, term loans, lines of credit, equipment financing and other forms of alternative financing in one place. You can browse our approved lenders or see our best rated lenders before you share a single document with anyone.

Fraud fighting is not something one company can do alone. It takes comparison platforms, lenders and business owners working together, sharing what they see and speaking up when something goes wrong. Fundivi joining this effort is an important step, and we hope other responsible lenders across commercial lending and alternative financing will follow.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Fundivi’s role in the Business Loans IQ fraud reporting program?

Fundivi has joined the effort as a supporting lender. It fully supports the program and brings the perspective of a direct lender to help explain how legitimate funding works, which strengthens the guidance we share and supports our review process.

Does Business Loans IQ lend money or recover funds lost to scams?

No. Business Loans IQ is a comparison platform that connects businesses with third party lenders. We do not lend money and we cannot recover lost funds. If you have been scammed, contact your bank right away and report the incident to the FTC, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center and your state Attorney General.

Is it ever normal to pay a fee before receiving a business loan?

No. Legitimate lenders and brokers deduct their fees from the proceeds at funding or include them in the cost of the financing, and those fees are written into the agreement you sign. A request to send money before you are funded is the clearest sign of an advance fee scam.

Will the company I report find out who reported it?

No. Your identity, contact details, description and documents are used only to verify the report. They are never published and never shared with the company you report.

How does a company end up on the list of reported fraudulent lenders and brokers?

A company is listed only after our team reviews a report and the supporting evidence and confirms that it holds up. Reports that cannot be verified are not published, and a company that believes a listing is inaccurate can contact us to request a review.

Help Us Protect the Next Business Owner

If a lender or broker took your money, misused your information or vanished after promising funding, tell us what happened. Your report takes only a few minutes, your identity stays private and it may be the warning another owner needs. Report a company today, and when you are ready to look for funding again, start with lenders that have already been reviewed.