I applied for a loan in the amount of $6, 000 on the internet with New General Financial on August 18, 2008. The whole set up seemed legitimate. I also went to the FBI website to search for internet loan scams to see if this company would pop up but it didn't.

On August 19, 2008, New General Financial 'approved' my loan application and asked for the following documents to be faxed to them: The signed loan agreement, proof of I.d., proof of income, proof of address and if bankruptcy was filed, the discharge forms. I followed the instructions and faxed my documents to 702-520-9300 on August 22, 2008.

A few days after that, I received an email telling me that I just have one last step to complete before funds could be transferred into my bank account. That step was forwarding the security deposit. **This should have been the RED Flag** The instructions were to forward the security deposit of $739.72 (a percentage of the loan amount) via Money Gram. The Receivers Name was Mathew Gordon; City, Province was Winnipeg, Manitoba; Country was Canada. After sending the security deposit, I was to fax the receipt to 206-333-0545. On 9/28/08, I sent the $739.72 as instructed. I faxed and emailed the receipt to New General Financial.

I received an email telling me that they were in receipt of the security deposit and it should take no more than 5 banking days to have the funds transferred into my bank account. Of course that never happened.

On October 7, 2008, I receive an email from [email protected] telling me that they are unable to forward the funds because the security deposit I sent did not cover the full amount of the loan. Meaning... they wanted $395 in addition to the $739.72. They claim the error was due to a computer issue which occurred at the time of my loan being approved. **I already knew that I was Ripped Off!** I feel like an idiot falling for this.

I requested for my loan to be canceled and my money to be returned. I called their number posted on their website, 866-360-3266, faxed several notes and emailed multiple times, but NO REPLY, NO CALL BACK. I was devastated to know that I was taken advantage of, but mostly I blame myself.

I'm a single Mom of two children, trying to provide a good life for my kids. This loan was made in hopes to take my kids on a mini vacation and re-build my credit. This has set me back but I'll never give up. I'll never give in to internet fraud ever again. This 'Mathew Gordon' who took my money in ill-fate, I have one message for you: 'God forgive you for hurting peoples finances by stealing from them.' What goes around comes around... Its only a matter of time.