Indian man called my cell and left a message saying his name was 'kelvin johns' and he wanted myself or my attorney to contact him for a time sensitive message. Called the number back and was disconnected I later tried the number again and the man said he was connecting me, pushed some buttons and it was the same person! He proceeded to tell me I had a cash advance that was unpaid for $200 but wanted to charge $3600 for me to go to court. He had last 4 of social, knew my name and email address and supposedly my job and said they had contacted my employer. He was very VERY rude and argumentative and hung up on me twice. Third time I called he said to call him back in 30 minutes. I did so and he pretended again to transfer me and came back on the line trying to deepen his voice and tell me he was the 'attorney' and he couldn't tell me where the loan was from, what date it was taken out he did however say they had no proof i verified the loan and told me if I didn't pay in 2 hours that all he had to do was take my social, my name and his signature as an 'attorney' to the sheriff and I would have a warrant out for my arrest. He yelled at me when I continued to ask questions and told me he would see me at the courthouse. These people are crazy and it is definitely a scam!

I also received a phone from 310-693-2422 was told I needed to call them back and ask for ext.359 after checking out this number on here I found out once again it is a fraud trying to get money out of me...please be aware everyone they will try anything and everything to get your information..

I HAVE GOT THIS CALL ON MY CELL PHONE AND ON MYU JOB PHONE

they call me all the time.  You can tell they are reading from a script!  I reported them to the St Attorney's office of CA.

this number called me saying they work for the start attorney and its a lawsuit filed aganist me i told him to have me served he hung up.

this is indian b l a c k f u  c k

claimed to be a law office threatening to have me arrested for a loan I did not receive

I got a called these people and stating they were First State Attorney Office sayingthat I owed an Advance Cash Payday Loan USA.

Just recieved a call from this guy. I told him I didn't have any law suits against me and to go to H----. Hung up and he called back giving a number to call, I just said forget you and hung up again. If He calls again he will hear some good old fashion language he may not want to hear.

This number keeps calling my phone and my job phone. A man by the name of Kalvin Jones said I owe money to a payday loan agency and that if I didnt pay back I would be sent to jail. I have no idea what he is talking about and I don't have time for the crap. I called my lawyer and she called them and now they want answer the phone now. funny

i recently applied for a credit card online, and the calls started shortly after that!!! i thought it was a scam and have been scouring the net trying figure all this out!! thankyou for all this info, if we all stick together on this and make enough noise maybe our goverment willdo something about it!!

total bull s***!! indian called me saying his name is david foster!!  criminal lawsuit for check fraud, and theft by deception from cash advance!!  i dont even have a checking account also said i was gonna be arrested if i dont pay!!  total crap!!

was called by indian accented man saying that i had 3 warrants 4 my arrest and they wanted my atty info 2 send the info 2 them? they said i got a wire transfer from advance cash and that when they tried 2 get the loan payment i owed i had nsf!-that they are writing off the loan and pressing charges? think this is scam definately! i went 2 bank and no wire transfers or wire collections! this is crazy and i was terrified! thank god 4 ths website 2 see others going through this so i now have piece of mind that i am not in trouble!

Got the same calls....they threatened me and when I asked questions, they would hang up. calls finally stopped when I gave my attorney's number.

I received a call this morning from someone claiming to be a paralegal for a firm called Foster T and Walker.  He had a middle eastern accent and was asking me to call the attorney at the firm, I told him to tell me what this was about. He kept insisting he was not able to give me that information only the attorney could provide the legal matter.
Now, I know why some of my friends and family have been receiving calls threatening them if they do not provide information on me,   Where are they getting their phone numbers???
I am not going to call the number, as you say the calls are being recorded by them. I am a woman so they are choosing me.
I had the same thing happened last year from United Legal Processing, which I reported to FTC, State Attorney General Office and my phone carrier.  My phone carrier give me a new number for our cell phone.  My home number was never called until now. I guess I will have to block their number.

Ditto... same
can only tell ya that cause they left me a message... but not ill never be able to  turn my ringer on again as work night and try to sleep during the day... so much for that idea... GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!!!!!!!!!!

Received call from 310-693-2422; identified themselves as First State Attorney's Office; called me at work and at home; wanted my lawyer's contact information; stated that I was being sued by Cash Advance.com for $389.32.  I never received this advance; I stated that if I had received this advance that the company would have taken it out of my bank account so why would they be suing me?  He could did not have an answer for me and put me on hold.  I hung up and called Cash Advance.com and was advised that it is indeed a scam.

Also, my caller  ID showed it as LA Hotel Venture; when I queried them about that showing on my caller ID he did not have an answer for that either.

"Robin Henry" just called me looking for one of our employee's. I called him on his scam and he told me "I'm in big trouble!"  These guys are calling from spoofed numbers from a call center in the middle east.  Don't give them anything.  Also they don't like being called a fool. lol

this number keeps calling about an unpaid payday loan i nevr had they call everyday

called me indian voice saying lawsiuit, knew my ss# name credit history, saying I could settle it by paying 500.00 and That I could pay it and resolve it in 2 hours or else I could go to jail. I asked how to send the money and he said he would let me know when I called back. I called this number back and it went to a voice mailbox that was locked. I think this is a scam I will take my chances to not send them money

This guy with a deep Indian accent called(my home and work) saying his name was Michael Elliot and that a lawsuit had been filed against my name and SS#.  He knew my DOB and the last 4 digits of my SSN.  Said I owed about 3084 dollars, but could not provide the information about who filed the lawsuit.  Wanted me to call the number back to speak to the attorney because he was only a paralegal.  He also wanted my attorney's contact info.  I called the number back and it rang then disconnected.

Thank you all SOO much for posting on this site. I just started recieving calls at home and work From a "Nelson Foster". I returned the call this morning and was rcieved by "Roger Fetcher" who threatened with arrest two days from now. I knew that something wasn't right but was a little worried I must admit. For some reason though He seemed quite pleased at my outraged outburst, especially when I said That you cannot be arrested For a commercial debt of $534.22 in America Though I knew I had no debt to a payday loan.. He informed me That I either wasn't an American or that I should let him do the Lawyering. He then laughed and said I had made his job very easy.
I unfortunately I have only myself to blame for opening this can of worms. I was in a desperate situation and about to be evicted from my apt. I felt I had no other opions so went to a website called 1hourloan.com and proceded to fill out a loan app. upon completion I ok'ed that my info be shared. A total NoNo but as I said, I was desprate. I recieved no money though my account had 1 cent taken out and put back in as verification of the accounts existence. 1 week later $30 was gone. 2 days after that the calls started. Now I feel trapped in this scandalous and dirty mess and am still going to be evicted. Man what a world.

i receive a call from this number today they ask for my dougter jennefir she is at 16 years old they said she own at loan in she no pay she will be arrested omg i call the police now police is in my house making at report they did this to at minor this peaple need to be arrested in for fruod

called me indian voice saying lawsiuit, knew my ss# name credit history, saying I could settle it by paying 3700.00$ and That I could pay it and resolve it in 2 hours or else I could go to jail. I asked how to send the money and he said he would let me know when I called back. I called this number back and it went to a voice mailbox that was locked. I think this is a scam I will take my chances to not send them money.

I have receive phone calls from this number along with 310-894-9405. Strong accent cannot understand anything they are saying ACCEPT AT THE END MAY GOD BLESS YOU.

they are threatening me over the phone and i live in Texas and will not stop calling

It is because you did something online for a payday loan or something...Never give your work number. They will keep calling just ignore them or tell your manager what is going on.

Thank you SOOOOOOOOO Much for all this information. Fiancee knew right away that it was a scam and now she and I are going to take the routes you suggested. Already field a complaint with the FBI, BBB, attorney General and also contacted our banks.

My fiancee received calls from these people on her personal cell phone and also her work cell phone looking for me saying I will be going to jail if I do not pay back a payday loan. I Have never took out a payday loan in my life. She advised them that they are scammers and she will be filing a complaint with the BBB and the Attorney General.. They in turn said He will be receiving papers to prove that they are not scammers.  She said bring it. Call this number again or this other number She will be calling the police for harassment.

This is an offshore payday loan debt collection extortion scam that has been going on for at least five years. The FBI is aware of it but is unable to go after those involved due to lack of money and manpower. I looked back and found some old information which may prove to be helpful:

They obtained your information through Teletrack:

Kudos to "Sam" for giving the most intelligent and informative posts on this scam. READ, Bookmark and use as needed:

http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-631-456-4041/2

I have been receiving phone calls from this group since late April / early May of 2010.  There is a good chance that they also attempted to contact me roughly two years ago before I entered into Chapter 7 Bankruptcy protection, as I faintly remember hearing the same script more or less.

As others have stated, the callers are difficult to understand.  Generally speaking their command of the English language is quite poor and their accents are hard to follow. At times they will get certain words or phrases mixed up.  It would be funny if it wasn't for the fact that they had:

a) Your SSN
b) Your home address
c) Your work address
d) Your banking info
e) Names, numbers and potentially the addresses of "references"
f) A complete and total lack of ethics and a basic understanding of the FDCPA.  

I have personally filed reports with the following agencies, often with limited (if any) success:

Local Police
my state's Attorney General's office
FTC
FBI
Secret Service

Generally the local police won't be able to help much.  The callers are using a combination of prepaid cell phones and VoIP, making them difficult to trace.  Also at their disposal are various spoofing tactics being implemented to catch people off guard - meaning the number that appears on your Caller ID isn't the number that is calling you for starters.  Without gaining a subpoena for the billing information for the numbers in question, the local police won't be able to get very far.  

My state's Attorney General's office couldn't offer much assistance either.  I received a form letter in the mail that my complaint was received and I would be contacted if they needed additional info.  It was more or less the same information I obtained from the FTC.  They each advised me not to give the individuals over the phone any account information or to authorize payment.  That's just common sense, though.

I never got anything from the FBI, either.  There is a good chance that since I haven't suffered a monetary loss that my concerns are low on the totem pole.  I hate to say this, but that is truly the case. Unless you were in the hole for a $1,000 (or more) you aren't going to get much more than "sorry to hear about your situation, change your phone number and move on".  I seemed to get some activity from the Secret Service.  I spoke with agent Doug Zloto. (Google him, referencing threads like these plus his name and you'll find his number also)  He seemed to care a bit more than the average person, but after giving him access to my Google Voice account, there has been no further activity from him that I'm aware of.

In the meantime I changed the wireless number the fraudsters had access to, they have no direct way to get a hold of me.  (Calls at work have ceased for some reason)  That in turn resulted in my "references" getting phone calls from the crooks.  Here is a word of caution for women that have been getting these calls - don't say anything and just hang up.  The callers are quite abusive towards women callers.  Why?  Possibly the culture.  If they are Indian / Pakistani, women are second class citizens there.  You will be treated like garbage.  This happened to a family member when she was trying her best to be extremely nice over the phone.  

The callers currently attempt to reach me through the female family member and an unused Google Voice number that they managed to find of mine.  I keep the Google Voice number open because, well, I can't delete it yet.  So, about every day, 4-5 times a day for the last week, I get voice messages from them.  It's usually just two full messages though - the other calls are broken up with static or they are attempts to read the script until the callers then screw up.  Really, they are that adamant on getting the script 100% that they will hang up mid-sentence and call back 30 seconds later.  

At this point it's a stalemate with these people.  

1) While they have the lion's share of information on us, they can't really do anything with this information.  

Why?  Think about it.

If they were to ever take funds out of your account without authorization, it's fraud and worse (for them) it is traceable.  That's why they won't do anything with your information, contrary to threats they make.  The money from your account has to go somewhere, and either your bank or a law enforcement agency can determine where the money was routed.  As a bank customer you are protected - you'd get the stolen money back in your account after 7-10 business days and the bank would be temporarily out the funds deducted from your account while they conducted their investigation.  The bank, along with law enforcement, would track down the fraudsters and apprehend them.  The fraudsters do not want to incur the wrath of a bank, just extort money out of you.  Remember that.    

Your authorization would absolve the bank from any and all liability, leaving you holding the bag.  Never give them authorization for anything - for all you know the call is recorded.  

2) We have no information on them.

Seriously, this has been going on at least since 2008, possibly longer than that based on some accounts. (6 years??? Holy crap!)  You would think someone would have slipped up by now.  Sadly, they haven't.  We can continue to grow our own intel on them and compile lists of aliases and phone numbers used, along with paraphrases of scripts used in order to educate other victims.  I'm actually putting together a site now in the meantime where I'll host audio files and lists of previous numbers used.  800notes.com is great, but no two calls are exactly the same.  It would be nice to have a site dedicated to the scam and how it works.

So that's where I am with these calls.  I have suffered no monetary loss, though I have been harassed both at home and at work.  They threaten me with arrest and other "fun" things in order to get me convinced I have to pay them.  My friends and family have been targeted and local and federal law enforcement agencies haven't been able to put a stop to things.  So, it is what it is.  I am out a wireless phone number I had for roughly six years, which is terrible since I was using that line when looking for a new job.  

Whenever I'm bored I spoof my number using Google Voice and return the calls.  I've called them the poster children for birth control, etc.  Basically a lot of nasty things that I'm sure the moderators here wouldn't appreciate me repeating - bottom line nothing nice.  I always like to close saying their parents must be real proud knowing their sons weren't man enough to get real jobs.  That usually gets a decent response.  

Way I see it - they can't do anything to me. (Despite a threat yesterday that my life would be f'ed up)  They can threaten all they want but my credit is frozen and my bank information has changed.  I've changed the only number they could really access me directly on and I've instructed my employer and family to not answer the calls.  I just call and harass them now when I find a few extra seconds.  What's the worst they can do to me?  Charge me with harassment?  

Nope, then they would have to identify themselves.

Oh, and don't bother contacting Cashnet USA about the calls.  Their "fraud" department could honestly care less.  Their "investigation" is merely a means of buerocratic CYA.  I would even be surprised at this point if actual law enforcement is involved in any shape, way or form at this time.  

There is a good chance that the information these crooks have on us was obtained from Cashnet USA - either from a database leak or from a collector that was once authorized by Cashnet to call on delinquent customers.  The other chance is they have access to Teletrack, and pulled all of our information off of there.

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

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.

PS--The FBI sent out a Press Release on this scam just last week:

Extortion Scam Related to Delinquent Payday Loans

Washington, D.C.
December 07, 2010  FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691

? filed under: Press Release

The Internet Crime Complaint Center has received many complaints from victims of payday loan telephone collection scams. Callers claim the victim is delinquent in a payday loan and must repay the loan to avoid legal consequences. The callers purport to be representatives of the FBI, Federal Legislative Department, various law firms, or other legitimate-sounding agencies. They claim to be collecting debts for companies such as United Cash Advance, U.S. Cash Advance, U.S. Cash Net, and other Internet check-cashing services.

According to complaints received from the public, the callers have accurate data about victims, including Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, employer information, bank account numbers, and the names and telephone numbers of relatives and friends. How the fraudsters obtained the personal information varies, but in some cases victims have reported they completed online applications for other loans or credit cards before the calls started.

The fraudsters relentlessly call the victim?s home, cell phone, and place of employment. They refuse to provide any details about the alleged payday loans and become abusive when questioned. The callers have threatened victims with legal actions, arrests, and, in some cases, physical violence if they do not pay. In many cases, the callers harass victims? relatives, friends, and employers.

Some fraudsters have instructed victims to fax a statement agreeing to pay a certain amount, on a specific date, via a pre-paid Visa card. The statement further declares the victim will never dispute the debt.

If you receive these calls, do not follow the caller?s instructions. Rather, you should:

Notify your banking institutions.
Contact the three major credit bureaus and request an alert be put on your file.
Contact your local law enforcement agencies if you feel you are in immediate danger.
File a complaint at www.IC3.gov.
Tips to avoid becoming a victim of this scam:

Never give your Social Security number?or personal information of any kind?over the telephone or online unless you initiate the contact.
Be suspicious of any e-mail with urgent requests for personal financial information. The e-mail may include upsetting or exciting but false statements to get you to react immediately.
Avoid filling out forms in e-mail messages that request personal information.
Ensure that your browser is up-to-date and security patches have been applied.
Check your bank, credit, and debit card statements regularly to make sure that there are no unauthorized transactions. If anything looks suspicious, contact your bank and all card issuers.
When you contact companies, use numbers provided on the back of cards or statements

http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/paydayloanscam_120710

http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-951-489-0227