Scary Loans: Black Lenders are Rebuilding Their Schemes
Since the beginning of 2026, the central Bank has identified about 360 illegal lenders promoting their services online, which is almost six times more than a year earlier. Their activity is growing against the background of a decrease in the availability of loans from banks and MFIs. In addition, black lenders are increasingly issuing loans secured by single housing. Their goal is to sue for real estate at the slightest delay. Schemes with the issuance of money in cryptocurrency are also gaining popularity. How the authorities identify such illegal immigrants and what protection methods the victims have are described in the Izvestia article.
Black Creditors Go Online
Previously, illegal immigrants worked mainly through offices — pseudo—pawnshops, online thrift shops, and purchase points - but now they have actively switched online, said Alla Khrapunova, an expert with the Popular Front. The loan application is made remotely, the money is transferred to the card — everything is fast, without unnecessary questions and with very bad consequences.
In the first half of 2026, the Central Bank identified about 360 illegal creditors who distributed their services online, Izvestia estimated, according to the regulator. For comparison, during the same period last year, only 56 such Internet projects were opened. Thus, the number of black creditors identified in the Network has increased almost sixfold.
At the same time, the share of online illegals has increased from 12% to 36% during this time. The Central Bank notes that more and more black lenders offer services only through pages and groups on social networks or popular ad platforms.
It is more difficult to deal with such projects on the Internet due to the low cost of entering the market, explained Freedom Global analyst Vladimir Chernov. After blocking the site, illegal immigrants can quickly create a new resource under a different name. In addition, they use cryptocurrencies and foreign payment services, which makes it difficult to track cash flows.
The problem also lies in the fact that a significant part of potential borrowers do not know how to distinguish a legal player in the financial market from an illegal one, according to the financial adviser and founder of Rodin.Capital Alexey Rodin. Only a third of Russians have heard of black lenders, and the majority do not check the organization before applying to it.
However, even understanding the risks does not always stop potential customers. Every tenth Russian is ready to turn to an illegal immigrant if he gives a lower rate. This is exactly what black creditors are playing on, offering conditions 1-4 percentage points below the market level, Alexey Rodin added.
The main audience of the illegal market is people with a damaged credit history, high debt burden or without official income, who are rejected by banks and MFIs, said Mikhail Bryukhanov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Pervouralskbank JSC.
Stricter requirements for borrowers in legal credit institutions further expand the audience of black lenders, Vladimir Chernov noted. If it becomes more difficult for a person with a high debt burden to get a new loan from a bank or an MFI, then his need for money does not disappear anywhere. It is precisely such clients that illegal immigrants pick up.
How have the schemes in the illegal lending market changed?
This year, the Central Bank has become more likely to identify illegal creditors who use schemes with apartments, follows from the materials of the regulator. In such cases, the goal may not even be to earn interest on the loan. At the first delay, the deposit itself is taken away through the court in order to sell it as soon as possible, even at a lower price.
At the same time, the lender is not interested in whether the person has other housing. On average, such organizations simultaneously conduct court proceedings in 7-10 apartments, and at auctions, real estate is often bought profitably by persons associated with the lender.
One of the most dangerous real estate schemes remains the so-called reverse leasing, said Alla Khrapunova from the Popular Front. At the same time, a contract for the purchase and sale of an apartment at a reduced price and a lease agreement for the same object are concluded with the person. In fact, the owner sells the house, but continues to use it as a tenant.
— In this case, the contract may contain conditions under which it is almost impossible to repay the debt. At the first delay, the apartment can go to the creditor," Alla Khrapunova added.
Crypto loans are also becoming an increasingly frequent scheme this year. The client is offered to get a loan in the USDT stablecoin (the coin's exchange rate is stable and pegged to the dollar), the Central Bank said. The regulator receives hundreds of complaints about such projects and blocks their websites, but after that, illegal immigrants create new duplicate resources.
Pseudo-credit brokers, as well as so-called financial consultants, are also dangerous, said Alla Khrapunova. They promise the client "100% approval of the loan according to special schemes," but require an advance payment for reserving the limit, legalizing income or improving credit history. After receiving the money, such intermediaries may disappear.
Illegal lenders use other ways to disguise themselves as official business, explained Maria Ermilova, Associate Professor of Finance for Sustainable Development at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics. Among the common schemes is the creation of websites similar to the pages of legal MFIs, the use of names like "micro—credit company", "financial assistance" or "credit center" without the appropriate status.
What are the dangers of loans from illegal immigrants?
Illegal organizations can charge extremely high interest rates and fines, and if the loan was secured, proceed to receiving and selling property, the MIR SRO reported.
A separate problem is the lack of documents confirming the repayment of the debt. The borrower can fully refund the money, but not receive a corresponding statement. In this case, after a few months, the organization may again declare that the loan has not been repaid, and it will be almost impossible to prove the opposite, Alla Khrapunova noted.
Another risk is associated with personal information, because illegal creditors get passport data, phone numbers and information about bank cards. In the future, they can be used to make loans in the name of a person, telephone fraud, or the resale of information on the black market.
When collecting debts, illegal immigrants can also turn to so-called black collectors. They use threats in personal messages, distribute photos of the debtor, publish information about him in Telegram channels, and also call relatives, spouses, and children. The purpose of such actions is to force a person to repay a debt by any means, including through psychological pressure.
How to protect yourself from black creditors
Before signing the contract, it is necessary to check whether the organization has the right to issue loans, the press service of the Central Bank told Izvestia. You can do this on the website of the Bank of Russia. Additionally, it is worth checking whether it is included in the list of companies with identified signs of illegal activity in the financial market.
If a person has already suffered from the actions of an illegal lender, it is necessary to save all documents, correspondence and payment statements, the regulator advises. You can contact the prosecutor's office with these materials. In addition, the borrower has the right to go to court to protect his rights and mortgaged property.
According to the law, an illegal lender, in principle, has no right to demand that the client fulfill obligations under a consumer loan or loan agreement, the Central Bank emphasized.
The regulator also supports changes in legislation that should simplify bringing illegal creditors to criminal responsibility, the press service of the Central Bank reported. It is assumed that the independent grounds will be the large amount of illegally issued loans (over 3.5 million rubles), as well as the frequency of their provision.
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