Scam warning signs — Practical borrowing guide

Compare products on a common written scenario. Record principal, currency, duration, repayment frequency, interest basis, APR or local equivalent, compulsory fees, insurance, late charges, early-settlement rules and total repayable. For Scam warning signs — Rights and regulation, Nigeria, an empty field means the provider did not publish a universal figure; it must not be replaced with an estimate. Ask each provider for a dated pre-contract disclosure and preserve it before choosing.

Central Bank of Nigeria is the first regulatory reference for Nigeria, but a regulator does not approve a particular application or guarantee a provider’s service. Verify the legal entity, authorised status and official domain independently. Do not rely on a social-media advert, messaging account or copied logo. A legitimate firm should explain pricing, identity checks, complaints and data use before collecting money or sensitive documents.

The representative example is useful only when its amount, term and fee assumptions match the product disclosure. It is not a prediction of your price. Recalculate using the actual written quotation and include every mandatory cost. Where a rate is variable, examine how repayment changes after a realistic increase. Where a flat rate is quoted, do not compare it directly with an effective annual rate without an official conversion.