WASHINGTON — Judging by its Web site, Michelle Ford said, Fairview Lending Group looked like a reputable company. Over two months, the 35-year-old loan adjuster from Charlotte, N.C., sent Fairview $2,856 in collateral for a $20,000 loan that never materialized.

Monica Aliman, 34, of San Jose, Calif., wired American Allied Financial her November rent money in the belief that she would receive her $8,000 loan in time to pay her landlord. She said she thought it was odd she had to send money to get money.

"I thought I just didn't know enough about the loan process," she said.

Ford and Aliman are among thousands of people who have fallen prey to what consumer watchdogs say is a recent surge in advance-fee loan scams.

The scam has been around for decades. Many consumers are not aware that it is illegal to charge lending fees in advance.

The Internet has made it easier for scam artists to find victims. Consumers are drawn in by legitimate-looking Web sites, complete with privacy policies, customer service numbers and online loan applications. Soon after filling out applications, the victims typically receive phone calls saying their loans were approved, but because of their credit ratings, they must first wire deposits or collateral.

Once the consumers oblige, the loans never materialize. The victims can no longer get in touch with the company and, having given out their bank account and Social Security numbers, are also vulnerable to identity theft.

In 2005, consumer protection agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission, the Better Business Bureau and the National Association of Attorneys General received nearly 14,000 complaints about advance-fee loan and credit-protection scams, according to Consumer Sentinel, a government clearinghouse that collects data on consumer fraud and identity theft.

Law enforcement officials have trouble tracking down loan scammers, who typically operate outside the country, creating a roadblock of jurisdictional issues. "These rogue operatives move quickly and reopen under various names. The address provided by such firms are often false, nonexistent or drop boxes," said Edward Johnson III, president and chief executive of the BBB for metropolitan Washington.

It is illegal for a lender to ask you to pay a fee before you get a loan. If you have concerns about a lender, you can contact the attorney general's office in the state where the company says it is located, the Better Business Bureau, or Project Phonebusters, an antifraud call center in Canada, where many phony loan operations are based.

The Better Business Bureau, www.bbb.org, (703) 276-0100

The Federal Trade Commission, www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/loans, (877) 382-4357

Project Phonebusters, www.phonebusters.com, (888) 495-8501 (toll free)

Source: Better Business Bureau, FTC