If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The South African store card company RCS is not using social media to offer loans of up to R400,000 to people blacklisted from other credit.

MARY ALEXANDER • 2 MAY 2024

“Sharing is Caring,” begins a message circulating on Facebook in April and May 2024.*

“Hello Family and friends! I feel like sharing this information, this has been a glorious year for me as I finally consolidated my debts with RCS Loan.”

It includes the logo of the RCS Group, a South African financial services provider. The company provides store cards, credit cards, personal loans and insurance.

The message continues: “I have been looking for a debt consolidation loan for months, I applied with my bank but I was declined … because of my poor credit. Until a friend introduced me to RCS Loan … I could not believe my eyes when they offered me a loan of R400,000.00 to consolidate all my debts.”

It ends with:

The special offer is also open to blacklisted individuals and debt reviews. RCS LOAN @ 5% Interest Rates, Contact RCS Today For An Application Form. Whats-app: (+27) 082 596 0415, Tel: 087 5100 651, Application Email; rcsgroup@mail.com.
PLEASE SHARE IT. YOU MIGHT JUST BE SAVING SOMEONE OUT THERE!!!..

Sounds too good to be true? It is. Here’s why the message – also seen here, here, here, here, here, here and here – is a scam.

‘That is not RCS. That is a scam’

First, the @mail.com email domain used in rcsgroup@mail.com is a free service offered by Mail.com. A major financial company would be unlikely to use a free email service.

The RCS Group’s real email domain is @rcsgroup.co.za.

The phone number could not be found on the RCS website, nor could any WhatsApp number.

To be sure, Africa Check contacted RCS via its website chatbot.

We first asked about the WhatsApp number. “We do not have a WhatsApp number,” it responded.

We then sent the contact details in the message, asking if it was a scam.

“That is not RCS,” it said. “That is a scam.”

In South Africa, “blacklisting” means a person’s credit score is so poor they are unable to get a loan – and certainly not a loan of R400,000. By saying the “special offer” is “open to blacklisted individuals and debt reviews”, the scammers are preying on particularly desperate and vulnerable people.

* Some claims posted on Facebook and Instagram may have been deleted by users after being rated via Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program.

Published by Africa Check on 7 May 2024