What Should I Do If I Think I Was Scammed by an MCA Broker?
Stop sending money, save every document and message, and report it. Contact your bank about any payments, file a report with the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and your state attorney general, and talk to a business attorney if you lost a significant amount.
What are the warning signs of a broker scam?
- An upfront fee to process your application or release your funding.
- A promise of approval before anyone has seen your statements.
- Pressure to sign within minutes.
- A contract that doesn't name a funder, or names one you can't verify.
- Requests for your online banking login.
Legitimate brokers are paid by the funder when your deal funds. At Afterfirst, it's free to apply and you never pay us.
What should you do right away?
- Stop any further payments to the company.
- Call your bank about payments you made and ask about a dispute or recall.
- Change passwords if you shared any login details.
- Save emails, texts, contracts, receipts and call logs.
Where do you report a broker scam?
The Federal Trade Commission takes fraud reports at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Your state attorney general's office handles consumer and business fraud complaints, and some states have a financial regulator that licenses or registers brokers. Reporting helps authorities spot patterns, even if it doesn't recover your money right away.
What if your identity was used?
If the scammer used your information to apply for financing elsewhere, place a fraud alert with the credit bureaus and review your credit reports. The FTC's IdentityTheft.gov site walks you through recovery steps.
Who can help?
A business attorney can advise whether you have claims and how to pursue them. This is general information, not legal advice.
How do you protect yourself next time?
Check the broker's business registration, ask how they're paid, never pay upfront fees and read every contract before signing.
Can you talk it through with Afterfirst?
If you've been burned and still need funding, we'll explain exactly how we work and who you'd be contracting with.
How do you spot fake funders and cloned websites?
Some scams impersonate real funders or brokers, using similar names, copied websites and lookalike email addresses. Before you sign or send anything, confirm the company's phone number and address from an independent source, like its state business registration, and call them directly. A real company will confirm whether the offer came from them.
Can you recover the money?
Recovery is often hard once money has left your account, which is why speed matters. Your bank's fraud team is the first call. Wire recalls work best within hours, not days. ACH disputes on business accounts have short windows, so call the same day you notice the problem.
Why tell your story?
Reporting what happened, even if it feels embarrassing, helps the next owner avoid the same trap.
How can Afterfirst help with this?
Call 877-FUND-654 or email info@afterfirstmca.com. We'll tell you how we're paid, who the funders are and what you'll sign before anything happens.
What else do owners ask about this?
- Who is the actual funder on my MCA offer?
- How do I report an MCA funder or broker to a regulator?
- Can an MCA funder garnish my wages?
More short answers on this topic are on the legal questions FAQ, and the MCA payment calculator runs the numbers for your own file.
Where do these facts come from?
Have a question we didn't answer?
Ask us on the call. Call 877-FUND-654 with any question. We call you back, usually the same business day, and we always talk with you before we shop your file.