The Authority for Consumer Protection and Competition of Panama (Acodeco) is warning of fraud involving microcredit applications. Ramón Abadi, General Administrator of Acodeco, stated that the institution has received numerous complaints from clients whose credit histories have been affected after their documentation was falsified on digital platforms dedicated to microcredit.
These companies possess falsified documents such as Social Security cards or payment receipts. "It's all a farce, and then they excuse themselves by saying that they were scammed and not you, but they've made you have a bad time because you haven't been able to make your bank transaction and you've had to go before all these authorities to disassociate yourselves from an issue that is their responsibility," Abadi explained.
He noted that when a customer requests to see the documentation authorizing the loan, these companies often have copies of the consumer's ID, but lack a signature or any other supporting document. Complaints arise when customers find an unauthorized loan on their credit history while searching for a banking transaction.
"Those people need to be sanctioned and removed from the market," warned the Acodeco administrator. "We are going to call them to account because we are going to put a stop to this kind of business that harms the Panamanian consumer."
