They called my cell today and did not leave a message.

I have been getting phone calls for the last year from different phone numbers an company names. I spoke to two of them this week and informed them that I had reported them to my local police and I had not heard from them until today. I received a call from someone by the nameof Mike stone with a heavy middle eastern accent the all seem to be ready from the same script. They call my work to but the receptionist has informed them that I am not allowed to receive phone calls. At one point they had sent me some authorization to my e-mail and when I questioned it they gave me some bogas excuse. These people are something else.

They call be from different Numbers and threatened me and my family.I just laugh cause I know its a huge scam and I do it right back.however it does get annoying as hell.now there calln be from this number lol dum people can't fool me none!!

they gave me the same spill about being arrested, and I will own them in the amt of 10,000 if i did not pay the 937.00 now... I told them if i owed them any money then they should be able to fax me my loan
documents.  i gave them my home fax number..  I never got any loan documents. phone calls stopped.

it is not a life they lack,,, these people have come accross some individuals that may own a similar company money, may be in default,, and or a timid person eaisly bullied.. thier strong arm tatics have worked and they have received money. so this scam pratice continues.

told me i was going to jail, had one hr to pay 925.37,  told them if i owed them money they they would have no problem faxing me my loan documents. as soon as they proved I owed them any money we could have this conversation. I gave them a fax number.. also a lawyers number told them the next person they needed to call was my lawyer.. they never called my lawyer, they never faxed me any laon documents and i never got anoher call. I knew it was a scam as soon as they told me i needed to fax them  a copy of my drivers license with my full name and address as well as social security number went as far as telling me to give them my debit card number and the three digit security code on the back. could hardly understand since the accent was thick. they did harrase me for about three days straight. with various demands, told me i could pay now or my cost would be 10,000.

I have the same problem... I call them back and when they pick up they already know its me, so I tell them they have the wrong number, and they ask me if I am sure... we argue about it and I hang up... They only have your last four of your social # DO NOT give them your full social... I told them if there is legal action against me they should have all my verifying security information, they argue with me and will not verify my full social #... I love to call them and talk like I am mentally ill... They say my name, I repeat it... they ask me questions I talk in spanish "QUE'?" Its fun...

But with that said, I work as a financial legal assistant, any and ALL legal actions will be served to you via summons by a county sherrif. These people have been calling me for about 2 to 3 years now. New number and company name everytime, but same contact person and accents. If legal action is against you, by law you will be notified by mail, and person to person summons. They threatened my family "God help you and your family" and NO legal firm anywhere can make that statement. You can contact the credit buraeu and make sure they have not accessed your credit identity. you can also keep their messages and report it to your local police station as harrassment. I had the attourney I work for even talk to them, they hung up on him...

Just play with their heads or tell them they have the wrong number..

There's no way to stop them so lets just blow up their numbers so they can't use them anymore!  Go here http://www.dailyhaha.com/soundboards.htm  or Google soundboards and hit them with your best shot!  They're number is looped from a US number so they don't have caller ID and they're criminals, pirates actually so who cares, prank away!

These people have called me for several weeks now.  Today they threatened physical violence if I didn't pay.  They have my address and say they have my ss# too.  I called back about 3 times to get the name of a supervisor which I never got.  I told them each time that I was reporting them to the FBI and Interpol.

They call me about once a week. I never answer the phone, it goes to v/m, they say i am a "primary suspect", for god knows what.  I donot understand them at all, very broken English  This is terrible the way they harrass people.  If all this was true, I know I would be notifid by the proper authorities.  I wish something can be done to discontinue their harrassing.  They certainly must have no life.

I just got the same call....same as you!!!!!!!!! foreign accent !!!!

Just got another call from the same number this time it was a female and again could not understand her heavy Indian accent when i told her to speak clear english she hung up and yes you are correct people be aware of the FDCPA and your legal rights, I am a debt collector so i constantly ask them questions and they hang up.

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

They just called me about an hour ago and i tell them to  just take me to court cause i have an atty and want to go to court. They call from different cell numbers have received the calls before and i have put an alert (fraud) on all 3 of my cbrs, i have also informed the local police for my area and the area code they call from, the better business bureau and the FBI. All they do is go buy a new pre-paid cell number and start over.  I had one guy get so vulgar ans sexually explicit on the phn now tell me what kind of debt collector or atty ofc is that, i keep all of my msgs they leave and i advise everyone else to do the same.  You can even google atty mike stone or what ever , also if they tell you they are from an atty ofc ask them for the atty bar nmbr, they are required by law to give it to you, then watch them hang up.

They closed this number down and it takes me to a voice mail box not directly to them anymore lol. these people are way to funny i had alot of fun fuc king with them hahahahahah

LOL I got on my google name and now google has a phone and i called and harassed them all day kept redial and they got mad would keep hanging up but its cool cause now they cant do business hahahahahaha.

I have received 6 or 7 calls in the last few days, from this number. Also saying that legal action is being taken against me, but will not provide the reason why. This person has a thick middle-eastern sounding accent, identifies himself as a police officer, and says that I must return his phone call immediately. I asssume that if real legal action were being taken against me that I would receive a summons. This is a form of harrassment.

About a month ago number they called me from another number. Stating I took a loan from a company for $300 and did not pay it back so I owed $700. Which I never did....but so now I'm being sued he said I had to get my bank records and information and fax it to him. (Wouldn't advise doing this). Then he about 2 weeks ago he called and left a message on my cell phone, work phone, boyfriend's and bestfriend cell telling them the same thing. Now he called me agian today leaving me a message and said I owe $12,000 and if I don't call him back I will be in big big trouble. I'm not calling this prick back because If I was really being sued and since he had my address...I would have gotten something in the mail by now. I would prefer to go to court and deal with this there instead of talking to a man who can barely speak english! "If I am in this really big trouble"... I'm going to look into how I can sue them!

That is exactly my thinking.  I call them and am just as awful as I can be.  I think everyone should do the same.  Suck up their time, vent some anger, and prevent a less astute individual from them.  They have become a cause for me.  I dislike predatory humans.

i called the FBI.  I also harrass them back relentlessly jamming up their system.  No blow is too low for these creeps.

call the FBI.   They probably don't have your social security number but are trying to get it. don't give them any more infor than they already have.

harrass them back and/or notify the FBI.   The number will disconnect and they will call you a month later.  I refuse to change my number so now I use them to vent my anger by using up space on their voicemail.   I also program the number they call from which is different than the number they have you call back into my phone so i know its them.  I may get a whistle and blow out their ear drums.  here is the number they call me from 987-562-0130,  you can't call it back.

This is a scam that has been going on for several years.  They call me too but I harrass them back by making up names and insulting them until they get a new number.  I have called the FBI b/c the way they got my number was by accessing or being sold infor from a US govt data base.   If you tell them you are calling the FBI they will leave you alone for about a month

hey guys. they really hate me there. i have called them back like 20 times and i have fun with them. 1st they called me with an urgent action required vmail. i called them back and cuss them out. sometimes make them think im suing them. ask for their address. they get all riled up. they are a bunch of indian F***heads. dont worry all they know is ur address name and cell number. not ur ss#. At this point i just call them up and start playing some random audio from youtube. they threaten me and scare me but they are the ones who started this.

DO NOT give them your full social#... Read my post...

I have the same problem... I call them back and when they pick up they already know its me, so I tell them they have the wrong number, and they ask me if I am sure... we argue about it and I hang up... They only have your last four of your social # DO NOT give them your full social... I told them if there is legal action against me they should have all my verifying security information, they argue with me and will not verify my full social #... I love to call them and talk like I am mentally ill... They say my name, I repeat it... they ask me questions I talk in spanish "QUE'?" Its fun...

But with that said, I work as a financial legal assistant, any and ALL legal actions will be served to you via summons by a county sherrif. These people have been calling me for about 2 to 3 years now. New number and company name everytime, but same contact person and accents. If legal action is against you, by law you will be notified by mail, and person to person summons. They threatened my family "God help you and your family" and NO legal firm anywhere can make that statement. You can contact the credit buraeu and make sure they have not accessed your credit identity. you can also keep their messages and report it to your local police station as harrassment. I had the attourney I work for even talk to them, they hung up on him...

Just play with their heads or tell them they have the wrong number...

Can anything be done to stop these people????

Oh my god this is a scary issue, they have my phone #'s, address and they claim to have my ss#, what can we do? how do they get this info.  yes they have an indian accent I have spoe to several of them Frank, James Taylor, Mike Stores they sentme an e-mail with a document showing an amount that I have to pay them I contacted payday and they do not have a record of me at all and they said the call could be a fraud...no kidding.....

some one keeps calling from this # 412 573 4428 impossing to be bill collectors...some foriegn people

yea the same # call me twice and cussed me out be cause i knew they were frauds.....