How Payday Lenders Target Consumers Hurt by Coronavirus, Gareth Jones

By joining up with out-of-state banks U.S. payday lenders are bypassing ad bans on Google and Facebook and marketing loans that typically carry annual percentage rates of around 200% to 500% to consumers looking online for financial help amid the biggest wave of job losses in U.S.

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Loans Almost Impossible to Pay Off Izetta Ferguson, 55 years old, of Charleston, S.C., said she needed $1,500 to pay for an unexpected car repair last year. Ms. Ferguson, a caregiver for a local organization that provides services to the disabled, said she did a Google search along the lines of “help with my loan even though my credit isn’t good.” That led her to Credit Sesame, a California-based company with millions of customers that offers free credit scores and loan-comparison services. It earns revenue if borrowers click on its links, then sign up for a loan. Ads for Credit Sesame appeared in the results of online searches done by the Journal of the type that a desperate borrower might do.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-payday-lenders-target-consumers-hurt-by-coronavirus-11591176601?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=3