Warning on Unauthorised Firm - Smart Loans (CLONE) email address [email protected] and [email protected]

It has come to the attention of the Central Bank of Ireland (‘Central Bank’) that a firm(s), providing an email address, [email protected] and [email protected] is purporting to be connected to a Central Bank authorised firm Finance for You T/A Smart Loans, has been operating as a Retail credit and Moneylending firm in the State in the absence of an appropriate authorisation. The email address [email protected] has been associated with a number of unauthorised firms online purporting to operate as Retail credit and Moneylending firms. 

This unauthorised firm(s) has cloned the name and details of a company called Finance for you T/A Smart Loans with a website wwww.smartloans.ie and an email address of [email protected], which is a legitimate firm authorised by the Central Bank. 

It should be noted that there is no connection whatsoever between the company authorised by the Central Bank and the unauthorised entity that has cloned its details.  The Central Bank advises customers to refer to the contact details provided on the Smart Loans website wwww.smartloans.ie.

A list of unauthorised firms published to date is available on the Central Bank website.

It is a criminal offence for an unauthorised firm to provide financial services in Ireland that would require an authorisation under the relevant legislation for which the Central Bank is the responsible body for enforcing.  Consumers should be aware that, if they deal with a firm which is not authorised, they are not eligible for compensation from the Investor Compensation Scheme.

Fraudsters are increasingly using legitimate firms’ details to add an air of legitimacy to their fraud. The fraudsters will 'borrow' some or all of the legitimate information of an authorised / legitimate firm for the purpose of this fraud. They may quote authorisation numbers / company registration numbers and links to seemingly legitimate websites and even provide the real address of an authorised / legitimate firm.  Consumers are advised to check our register to verify a firm’s details and to call the firm back directly using its advertised phone number.

For further information, please visit the Avoiding Scams and Unauthorised Activity section of the Central Bank’s website.

Any person wishing to contact the Central Bank with information regarding such firms / persons may telephone (01) 224 4000. This line is also available to the public to check if a firm is authorised.  

Notes

The name of the above firm is published under the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013.