I keep getting repeated calls/messages on my cell phone leaving this number to call them back at.....the number that shows on my caller is always 444-198, never a full number.  They say they are from the United Nations Legal Department and that my case has been forwarded to them from a payday loan company (the name they gave me, i called and verified i owe them no money.)  I am scared as they have ALL my personal information including my social security number.  I know this is fraudulent, but dont know what to do.

I received a call from a 1444198 someone with a heavy accent informs me that there is a lawsuit against me. That I have 24 hours to clear this.  I have received many calls from different numbers claiming that I have lawsuits because of payday loans I inform them that I am reporting their number because I am aware this is fraudulant charges.

I received a call from 444 198 they left a message saying ( in a heavy accent) that I need to return their call ASAP or I'm going to jail for fraud, the left a number of 619-309-4469. I called them back and they asked me if I had a friend named bla blah I said yes, they said you need to contact her immediately or your going to jail for fraud. She used you as a reference. I contacted my friend and she called them, they told her she needs to go to Wal Mart asap and get a debit card and send them money or she was going to jail!

i just recieved a call that showed as private name on my caller id...the person in a heavy accent asked for me and i said i wasnt here can i take a message...he gave me the number 302-338-9281 and told me to have me call asap...i asked who was calling...he said mike brown...lmao...since when are pakistani people or others with their accent named mike brown...i laughed at him and had him repeat it 3 times...i knew at that point it was a scam as i have been called before and told i had a lawsuit against my SS#, which they did have, and that is scarey...this is definately a scam

My friend got a call from this number from a John Mark. Saying i owed some money to a payday loan company. That they were ready to issue a warrant for my arrest. To give them a call back to prevent any further legal action. He tells me he had a very thick accent and wasnt able to fully understand everything he said. When I call back a lady answers and says her name is Jennifer James. She tells me that I do infact have a case in court gives me a "case number" and tells me that I need to go to walmart buy a prepaid card load it with $350 before the end of the month and write a letter to the court so that this could be settledd outside of court. In the letter I was supposed to add the card number cvv and exp. date. I did a quick google search and it turns out its a big scam.

I am getting calles from a brrian le saying he is from american legel i have as him to send me the legal paper and i've him to stop calling me too but he wont what can i do get them to stop.!

This a***ole from inia keeps calling me and telling me that i face stiff legal alligatios if i do not pay them some money.This is a crock and i know it! I have told theses jerkwads to quit calling me but they just wont take no for an answer. If someone knows how to get these people to quit calling me then let me know!!!!

My friend just got harassed by this Delaware number.  She called the Deleware police and the police are going to try to track the owner of this cell phone and at least get it disconnected and perhaps bring charges.   Police were going to list the  phone number statewide for warnings.

I received several phone calls from 3023389281 saying they are America Legal Collections.  They of course said I owed a payday loan.  I did take out pay day loans.  I have continually asked for paperwork, they say they won't give it to me.  They call my references, my work.  They break all of the fair collection laws.  I just called them again and they say either to give them a checking acct number or debit card and I said no.  So now they are suing me and sending the lawsuit to my wok

For at least the last four years, possibly longer, a group has been calling former payday loan applicants advising them that they have defrauded a bank and are now being sued for non-payment of a loan.  The callers will claim to be calling on behalf of an attorney's office (name varies), the Dept. of Law and Investigation, ACS, or other similar combinations below:

United Legal Processing Division
Midline Marketing
Crime Monitoring Services
Monetary Crime Division
U.S. National Bank
Attorney General?s Office (usually in California)
American Legal Services
Affidavit Consolidation Services (ACS)

You will be threatened with arrest, a costly trial and possibly worse.  In no shape, way or form can you be arrested for non-payment on a consumer debt.  Do not believe these threats, as they are without merit and cannot be carried out in the manner they allege.  

Who are they?

In the past when pressed by law enforcement for an address, the callers have provided the following information:

David Morgan and Associates
Morgan & Associates
Morgan Associates
954-727-8481
1155 Northwest 85th Street
Wintergarden, Florida  33150
(Address is likely invalid)

The collector's MO matches a once legit collections agency called Ellis Crosby & Associates.  Here are some links on them:

http://www.budhibbs.com/collectorpages/ellis_crosby_and_associates.htm
http://www.budhibbs.com/collectorpages/EllisCrosbyJudgment.pdf

They have been previously fined over $1.3 million for various violations.  They have been known to use phone banks in India to make their calls, which more or less coincides with the difficult to understand accent many of us detect when we are contacted.  

The last time this group went by any "official" name was back in 2008:

Ellis Crosby & Associates / Douglas & Morgan Associates
4494 Southside Boulevard Suite #200
Jacksonville Florida 32216
Phone:  800-928-3536 / (904) 928-3536
(Address is likely invalid)

There are NUMEROUS consumer alerts out against this group of individuals:

Florida:
http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/061107/met_176207561.shtml

Kansas:  
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/01/ks_debt_collection.html

Colorado:  
http://www.coloradoattorneygeneral.gov/press/ ... lls_likely_orig

Rhode Island:  
http://www.collectionscreditrisk.com/news/rho ... -3002135-1.html

West Virginia:
http://www.wvago.gov/internetloanscam.cfm

Missouri:
On July 15th, 2010 a Public Awareness Bulletin was sent out by Missouri Information Analysis Center.  

"..received reports from individuals in Ohio and Illinois reference suspicious telephone calls they received. In both instances, the callers are reporting that a voicemail is received from a man, with a Middle Eastern accent, identifying himself as an officer working with the Financial Crimes Unit.  The message indicates that the reason for the call concerns a loan made by the receiver or someone in the receiver's family. The voicemail requests that a return call be made and a telephone number is provided. When a return call is made, the caller is asked to provide personal identifying information such as their date of birth and social security number.

Reports indicate that the calls are frequent and persistent and that they even threaten arrest or legal action if information or money is not provided. It appears that the individuals making these calls may have access to some records connecting individuals and their relatives.  Missouri does not have a Financial Crimes Unit and all indications are that this is a fictitious agency. If you receive a similar phone call, please be advised that it is a scam and please contact your local law enforcement agency or the Missouri Information Analysis Center at 866-362-6422."

Bottom line:

Do not supply the callers with any additional information.  Inform them you have reported them to law enforcement and hang up.  If you haven't already, go ahead and report the calls to local law enforcement, your state's Attorney General and beyond.  Look up the local Secret Service branch's information in your area and get in contact with an agent there.  

If you ever applied for a cash advance online, your information is out there.  
Possible sources for the breach of your privacy are:

* The scammers obtained your information from Teletrack - a reporting agency used by many cash advance lenders to determine their risk lending to you.  The service is able to tell cash advance lenders if you have existing loans with other companies, for example.  Many state laws prohibit borrowers from having more than two cash advances out at the same time.

* The scammers created their own fake payday loan application site.  People looking for a cash advance went to the site and applied, thus freely providing the scammers with their information for malicious use at a later time.  

* The scammers were able to get into the database(s) of cash advance lenders - probable targets being Sonic Payday and Cashnet USA.  


How to protect yourself:

* Inform your employer.  You are likely getting calls at home and/or at work, so make sure your employer is aware the calls are part of a scam and to not take them seriously.  Advise the callers that they are no longer allowed to call you at work.  If they continue to call, document the date and time of the calls you received.  Save voice mails left if at all possible.  

* Change your number(s).  For some this may not be an option, for others a one-time number change can be done free of charge.

Be advised - any references you listed on your payday loan application will be contacted.  Let those people know that this is a scam, and they can disregard.

* Use Google Voice.  Google Voice is a great replacement voice mail system for just about any phone number you use.  Messages can be transcribed and voice mail recordings can be saved as mp3 files.  

Pro Tip - call the scammers with a Google Voice number before turning off your old phone numbers.  Make sure when you call you identify yourself so they can start up their script.  At any point after they have your information pulled up just hang up.  They will then start religiously calling your Google Voice number.  At this point, you are free to change your regular phone number(s) and enjoy not having these people ever call you again.  (And laugh at the fact these people are basically talking to a brick wall several times a day)

The scammers change their numbers frequently.  Law enforcement used to think it was because the callers ran out of minutes on their prepaid wireless accounts or they were shuttered due to fraud, but now they understand it's simply to evade detection by savvy consumers online.  With the proliferation of VoIP, it's even easier for the crooks to stay a couple of steps ahead of law enforcement.  Below is just a sampling of the 30+ numbers that have been used in recent memory.

1-201-244-7722
1-209-349-7382
1-209-797-2212
1-212-500-0839
1-213-256-0408
1-213-995-3039
1-281-763-0433
1-347-289-3902
1-347-844-6817
1-347-844-6831
1-424-354-4270
1-516-232-8905
1-516-232-8935
1-518-212-0219
1-561-300-8018
1-561-210-4185
1-626-200-4646
1-631-456-4041
1-646-274-1143
1-646-810-8635
1-650-241-4604
1-707-401-4056
1-707-633-2789
1-708-401-0535
1-716-442-2824
1-717-862-4080
1-718-705-8669
1-760-514-0132
1-760-563-5384
1-772-318-4938
1-850-201-1111
1-858-777-1977
1-859-908-2281
1-866-860-4509
1-877-226-7488
1-888-706-7463
1-888-771-9249
1-888-785-4479
1-909-327-4870

So can they really do anything to you?

It's not a simple yes or no answer.  Logic dictates that, if they really wanted to take you for a ride and drain your bank accounts, they already would have.  

So, why haven't they?  

Authorization.  

Why do you think you are being called so much?  Perhaps it is because they like the sound of your voice?  No, they have to have your authorization to take any form of payment from you, period.  The callers know their audience, and that audience is typically a bunch of people that have applied for payday loans in the past.  Most of those people they call couldn't afford an attorney if they wanted one, and are so used to receiving collections calls that so long as they sound like a real collector, they will likely be perceived as one.

Furthermore, they don't even really want to talk to your attorney - that just sounds official and scary enough.  A real attorney would take the callers to task and write them off as two-bit con artists.  The callers need you, in writing, to authorize payment against the fictitious debt they claim you owe.  Go ahead, ask them for proof you owe the debt - more commonly known as verification of debt.  See what they say.  A phone authorization carries very little weight, so if they have something signed by you on file, you are done for - and the callers know that.  That authorization is the only thing these callers are doing by the book, and for good reason.  If they just went all willy nilly and made an ACH debit from your checking account, without your written approval, you could in turn report the transaction as fraudulent to your financial institution.  In about 7-10 business days, you would get the funds returned to your account.  Then the scammers would be up against a bank and their team of lawyers and investigators.  

Bottom line:

If you haven't paid the callers a dime, don't.  If you planned on paying them to shut them up, just don't.  Remember - you are not being contacted by a legally licensed, ethically owned and operated collector.  Read up on the FDCPA - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf - and know your rights.

http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-646-274-1143/3

I keep getting calls from different numbers telling me to call this 3023389281 number. They said they are American legal collections. My mom is a paralegal in alabama and she told me to tell them to contact her and I will no longer be speaking to them but they wont listen, the names I'm getting are micheal boyt and supervisor Kevin Lewis, I know its a scam but I still cant get these people to stop calling no matter what I say. If anyone has any suggestions I would be greatful, I'm trying to avoid changing my number if possible

I received a call from 3023389281 and the caller told the person who answered the phone that his name was Josh Brown (I was not at my desk) - Yes, he called me at work! I became very suspicious because I've gotten these bogus calls before. They won't give you any info about who they're working for, but expect you give all your personal information to them!

I GOT THESE CALLS FROM ANOTHER NUMBER ABOUT THREE WEEKS AGO AND WENT OFF ON THE GUY TELLING HIM I WAS GOING TO CALL THE POLICE IF HE CALLED BACK.. TODAY I GET ANOTHER CALL FROM THIS NUMBER AND HUNG UP HE CALLED BACK AND ASKED WHY I HUNG UP AND I TOOK HIS NAME PHONE NUMBER AND ADDRESS AND TOLD HIM IT IS A SCAM THAT IS WHY I HUNG UP AND HE SAID YOU THINK THIS IS A SCAM I WILL SEE YOU IN COURT AND THEN YOU WILL KNOW WHO I AM AND HUNG UP ON ME. SO IM HOPING HE DOESN'T CALL BACK.

I am also recieving these calls at work I have asked them to stop and they will not. Does anyone know what we can do to stop these people.

These individuals have been calling my friend (who I used as reference to apply for a loan on the internet) purporting that I took a payday loan and did not pay it; and that they would take him to court if he did not make me pay the money. In fact they have worried my friend to the point where he told me he was going to change his number. I went to him early this morning and we together went and reported the case to the police in San Francisco. The officer on duty called them, and they somewhat managed to outwit the officer. They told the officer that they are lawyers working for the united nations legal services and that they have been calling because there is legal case against me. Instead of this officer asking them further questions for proof of their story (e.g., ask them where their office is located, why they are not using a san francisco area code, etc), she rather turned to me and said 'the people calling you are lawyers working for the government and they have the right to talk to you'. So when we came out off the the office, I called 302-338-9281 and asked where they were calling from and they said San Francisco. I asked them if they were calling from San Francisco, then why is the area code not 415 but 302? They said they are using Deleware code. Then I asked them, if the phone was a cell phone and they said yes. When I asked them for the location of their office in San Francisco they got very angry and said they were not going to tell the location of their office and neither will they allow any of their lawyers to meet me; and that they will meet me in court.
I cannot remember taking any loan from any company and not paying it. I think the FBI may have to investigate these cases to save us from these embrassments. I gues phone numbers with area codes are registered and it should be possible to trace these individuals.

just recieved the same call and they gave me some phoney case# and i said i was going to my police dept with this. THIS IS A SCAM...PLEASE DONT VISIT THOSE CAH INTERNET SITES!!! DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY INFO.

Just recv'd a message to call this #.  It was to a Steven Williams who worked for a large legal firm, that he. Would not give me the firms name.  Saying that I took a cash advance & this was my chance to settle out of court.  I did not take any cash advance.   When I asked for written proof to be mailed to me I was advised that they emailed me.   I asked for the bank's routing numbeer, & he told me to just check w my own bank.  I asked for a manager & then I was told they would see me in court