Online scammers rip off desperate Jinja clients

A section of desperate clients have fallen victim to an online lending platform in Jinja City, which has branded nonexistent offices.

One of the victims, who declined to be named, said the fraudsters start by lending small amounts of money ranging from Shs15,000 to Shs50,000.

“After you repay the initial loan and possibly the second installment, they send you an SMS notification, praising your creditworthiness and offering an upgraded borrowing limit of between Shs1.5m and Shs50m,’’ the victim said on Wednesday.

He added: “However, the scammers swiftly demand an application fee of Shs106,000 while assuring you of a two-minute payout. They later claim the application needs a “boost,” of an additional Shs156,000.”

Monitor has established that the alleged scammers trade as “One Loan” for small loans and “Credit Loans Uganda” for larger loan amounts.

Modus operandi

According to the victim, after receiving those additional payments, the alleged scammers vanish without a trace, and their WhatsApp chat line (0780368913) consistently sends messages promising to disburse credit while citing “technical issues” with their “system”.

While the alleged scammers name Room 8, Level 2, Bazanya Plaza on Iganga Road as their address, the Executive Director of Bethel Training Institute, Mr David Mubiike, the immediate neighbour, says otherwise.

“I don’t know about that online lending platform because my institute is just next to a fitness gym, not an online lending platform office,” Mr Mubiike said.

Monitor has since established that the above address which is said to be the online lending platform’s head office, purportedly run by an individual named John Sessanga, is fictitious.

The Manager of the building, Mr Saleh Kasisi, said that the loan office does not exist in that building.

“On the second floor, I have a gym, an institute and store and its name is not Bazanya Plaza, but Biashara on Iganga road,’’ he said.

This publication has discovered that the alleged scammers’ Kampala offices, which are said to be located on Tangore Building, Bunga, also does not exist.

Efforts to contact a one Stella Esau who is listed as a credit officer were futile as her telephone was off at the time of filing this story.

A quick internet search reveals that OneLoan-Online Loan App is an online premium lending application in Uganda that helps users easily get online loans with flexible terms.

The Principal Jinja City Commercial Officer, Mr Rogers Kuboyo, said the company, which is alleged to have headquarters in the area, is not registered with them, and is using Jinja City as a conduit to cheat people.

“No trading license certificate has been issued in the names of “One Loan” or “Credit Loans Uganda” to that effect. These are just conmen using our City name to hoodwink people and we shall hunt for the directors for arrest,’’ Mr Kuboyo said.

He urged locals to always crosscheck for trade licenses in the companies they do business with to avoid being cheated.

The Kiira Region Police Spokesperson, Mr James Mubi, did not answer our repeated calls for a comment on this issue.

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