Last weekend I made some on-line enquiries regarding possible business finance. On Monday morning PAUL MAGILL phoned me in relation to my enquiry. As a result of that call he sent me an email requesting 100 point ID check, 3 months of bank statements, last tax return and so on. He also wanted $7,200 (+ GST the cheeky bastard!) as an upfront 'Unsecured Loan Fee' that would be repaid if I didn't miss any repayments in the 1st 6 months.
I told him I wouldn't pay any such fee but apparently that was not a deal breaker! He could still secure a loan for me as long as I paid $1,800 up front to get the application started.

I did the normal online ASIC company searches and the business name etc all sees legit. There is however, nothing that proves he is a real representative of that company.

I phoned his number this morning and he answered with a very unprofessional "Hello!" Hardly the standard phone greeting of a legitimate financial business. I asked for his FSG and a proper loan application form to be emailed to me. Nothing has been received yet - I suspect I won't hear from him again.

So there were a couple of things that seemed off and made me suspicious of this guy:

1. It was an unsolicited call, although he made me think it was as a result of my online enquiry.
2. He offered me an interest rate of 5.56% on a business loan. (if it sounds too good to be true...)
3. He did not know what a tripartite agreement was or how it related to security for a loan.
4. His email signature is very simplistic and does not contain any of the usual disclaimers regarding unintended recipients etc.
5. His email address is not a corporate address but rather paulrmagill @ outlook.com
6. When I stopped and looked at the info he requested from me, it was basically everything he would need to steal my identity and/or make loan applications in my name.

I can't prove this was an attempted scam but as the saying goes "If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck..."

Please be wary people, there are some slimy bastards out there.

Cheers,
Bruce.

PS Here is his email signature:

Paul Magill
FIRST AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD
ABN: 18 095 835 402
AUSTRALIAN CREDIT LICENCE: 393266
PHONE: (03) 9005 6234
FAX: (03) 9005 6234

He got $30000 of my hard earned savings I fell for his trap like a fool!

BEWARE!!! This number is being used by a CONMAN who goes under the name Paul Magill. He claims that he has investors looking to finance new or existing businesses. He is using other companies ABN's and ACN's and their business names and setting up fake websites with an email contact address.