I received a voicemail message at work from a man stating that his name was Chris Williams and that he was calling me about a time sensative matter that required an immediate call back from either I or my attorney.  If i ignored the call, then he wished me luck in this situation as I would definitely need it.  Who are these jokers and what is being done to stop this scam?

Vous pouvez selon votre compagnie téléphonique pour des frais de 5$ faire enregistrer l'appel et ensuite faire une plainte à la police qui eux auront accès à la bande enregistrée.

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

got acall on my cell this morning that had my nerves going said that i took a loan out and never paid it back and where was i going to be at 11 o 'clock tomorrow morning because the loan company wanted me in jail for 4 or 5 months. when i asked to speak to someone else the guy told me there was no one else to talk to if this was real there should be plenty of people to talk to[lol]

I have been getting these same calls. I call them back with the same India accent they use and threaten them with the Allah coming down on them. I tell them come and get me I'll be waiting and they really lose it, calling me every swear word in the book. ITS A SCAM PEOPLE, DON'T FALL FOR IT..........

i also recieve a call today from this number,they stated that i needed to pay an amount of$816.00 today or an arrest warrant would be sent out for me and i would be arrested and when i go to court i would have to pay the judge $5000.00 i ask him what was his name he told me chris williams i then ask the name off the company he work for. but i didnt understand what he said,  then i ask him what loan company was it i owe him and he said cashnet. i than ask for the number, he told me there wasnt a number but i would have to make the payment today and there were nothing else he could do, i than went online to the cashnet site and got the number and the person said that they didnt have anything on file for me.i than call those scammers back and ask what was the name of there company again i was told they were cash net... a totally differnt name from what i got at first. i hung up and than they start calling me back to back with differant numbers i was so pissed due to the fact that they have all my info.....

I got the same type of call that is explained above, threats of Jail and that I was a criminal,same type of people ans they even pulled the supervisor trick(same person). I was called at my place of work which is a law firm. They said the attorney they work for is Scott Miller and the company that had a case against me was "Sonic Cash Net". They had my Social and bank information, even the names and numbers of my close friends. I will close out my bank account and I will report them to my local authoritys and to the FBI. the did give me a number that I could call back on in 15 minutes (HaHA) that number was  949-258-3122

I JUST GOT A CALL TO DAY FROM THEM SAYING I GOT MONEY FROM THEM THEY CAAL ME FRON 213 992 3512 THE GUT NAME WAS SCOTT MILLER

These people have called me numerous times. I usually only got the voice mail  after I got off work. And it was always the same. Some American name but could tell that he was not American. They wished me good luck everytime. My husband had the day off and actually took a phone call from them yesterday. It was ANDREW JACKSON!!! How funny is that? It is a total scam. I have never in my life had a payday loan so I knew right off the bat it wasn't right. Now I just call randomly to bug them. Sometimes just not talking, sometimes flushing the toilet. These people are idiots. To everyone out there. The police do not get involved in civil matters such as this. They would never come to your home or office to arrest you.

After reading several experiences from the people on this site I contacted the Federal Trade Commission and they claim that no matter where the call is coming from they are not allowed to use bodily threats or threats of jail for bill collection. Thisw floreign company told me they had my phone number and address and they are coming to kill me that is all those foreigners know is violence they are savages and terrorist. I hope the Frederal Trade Commission can do something to stop them.

The fact that you prey on innocent people is disgusting! Most of us pay our bills by having real jobs, not calling people and harrassing them.  I have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and hopefully they will put people like you in prison, with your flea infested camels!!

Same thing happened to me today, got a message on my cell from a Jack Sparrow LOL and I called back and of course got someone I could barely understand  who said his name was Peter Gray, again LOL!! He knew my last four digits of my SSN!!!  He said I had set up a website and was stealing money from people and Bank of America was filing three charges against me, he said they were writing the money off as stolen but I was to be charged with "stealing money". He then told me I would be arrested in three hours. At that point I told him he was a scammer and hung up and reported him to the Federal Trade Commission. Please be careful of these people!!!

The same thing happen to us.  The were very convincing!

Threatning!

I got the same call last night - telling me that I must call the other number or officers will show up, I called, after blocking my number, and got some guy from INDIA yelling at me about "thinking they are stupid" or something and then telling me that this is serious and will be in big trouble of I do not act now(though, I was never told what I was supposed to do) but I did call the telephone company to see if I can file a complaint and they said that they can't do anything...I thought this was that scam about being charged hundreds of dollars a minute (them using a forwarding feature or something) but phone company was no help.  Hey, the guy that called me said his name was "clive" with the legal afidavit office.

I got the same call last night - telling me that I must call the other number or officers will show up, I called, after blocking my number, and got some guy from INDIA yelling at me about "thinking they are stupid" or something and then telling me that this is serious and will be in big trouble of I do not act now(though, I was never told what I was supposed to do) but I did call the telephone company to see if I can file a complaint and they said that they can't do anything...I thought this was that scam about being charged hundreds of dollars a minute (them using a forwarding feature or something) but phone company was no help.

In my previous post I mentioned that I had called the States Attorney regarding these people. Unfortunately, I was told that what these people do is buy pre-paid numbers in U.S. cities and then set up some sort of framework to have the calls forwarded out of the country. I was quite disappointed to learn that since they are out of jurisdiction that their was nothing I could really do aside from write my congressman about the Freedom of Information act which allows these third parties access to our information. Call your bank and make sure they don't have all your information. They had the last 4 of my social, as well as the ending numbers in my bank account... But I believe that's all they have.

I have been calling them harassing them from an untraceable line for the past few days and I have really irritated a few of them. I cant believe they keep this number... So frustrating...

These people just call my work number again.  Their message said to not ingore the call or something terrible will happen.  This time he identified himself as Eric Williams instead of Chris but the voice was very similar to the one earlier this week.  Are you saying I should call the local police immediately to report this.

Whoever you are, you are a sick SOB...

This number has called me everyday this  week.  They keep threatening that a warrant has been issued against me for international check trafficking and that I owe them $5000.00 or the police will be at my door in 3 hours.  I pretty much told them off, but they keep calling.

ok people found out some info about these people theur phone provider is global crossing local services i cross refence them and they told me to call local phone provider and police to have this trace

You dirty western capitalist pigs! You have filled my voice mail box to maximum full capacity! If you owe monies than you need to pay the monies. All our services is to do is get the monies that you owe the companies. We do not enjoy this business and personally, we are paid only very little! I have come to understand that you filthy Americans are greedy, dishonest and may Allah infest your camel with a million fleas so you may have to walk to your Starbucks! I use American name only because your dirty tongues cannot speak the beautiful Arabic language so I must use a name you can speak easily, like a baby. My hope is that if you don't pay the money to my company that you will have police come to your house, take your belongings and make your wives and children into slaves to pay off your debt as you go to Abu Ghraib prison and be tortured with my brothers!

The call was exactly as all the above posts have stated.  This is a total scam do not even give these people the time of day...what they are doing is sick!

P.S.

If you did give them your info. change your bank account IMMEDIATELY. Unless your fraud protection kicks in you will never see this money again. If you gave them permission and the info. there is nothing anyone can do...

Church,

This site is very true... I have spent the last 2 days calling these people back, prank calling, toying with them. Its the only satisfaction I can find at the moment. These people are NOT legitimate. DO NOT give them your info. If you read my post above I was frightened at first because they had my info. Ive talked to the State Attorneys office and its unfortunate that they are unable to really do anything because of the jurisdiction.

If you want to feel better, call them from an unlisted number and have fun with them. Once they realize you know its a scam their true colors come out, but its fun none the less...

wow i just got the worst voicemail ever! so i called the number back sure enough it was either eric williams or a steve johnson both sounded arabic.. they threatened me and said if i didnt pay them back 1300.00 i would be arrested tomorrow at 11:00 a.m made me very upset.. i was trying to make arrangments about what i was going to do for work and what would happen.. then i came on here because something just wasnt making sense and see the first thing that popped up when i googled the number was this site! i hope to god this site is true!!! please someone reply to me?!

umm just got this call.. he threatened me and said i was being arrested tomorrow at 11! i am so glad to see this! i really do hope this was a scam..

Wanted to add that the caller ID came up as "888"

Also, I have spent the better part of the last day calling them numerous times using soundboards, prank calls and even letting them know how I feel about them and that I would be publishing this number as often as I can.

SO I received a call this morning on my cell phone, I had a weird feeling initially because my caller ID simply said ?888?.

I answered the phone and a man on the other end said in very broken English (Middle Eastern I believe), ?Hi, I?m am calling, report to you, big trouble, you call hotline, we have affidavit, you no call you be big trouble? I have done the best I can repeating this verbatim. I got into an argument with the guy as I was pissed off on many levels. One; He knew my phone number, and email. At this point I?m thinking it cannot be legitimate, but I decided to call the hotline number anyway (619) 342-0094 just to make sure; these days nobody speaks proper English when it comes to customer service, banks or anything else so I just couldn?t be sure.

I proceed to call the hotline number, again (619) 342-0094; another man answers the phone with even worse English. He asks my name, I tell him I will not give him my name or any other information. He asks me if I?m calling from 619.xxx.xxxx, I tell him it?s none of his business and proceed to grill him about the previous call and try to inquire about his name and what company he is representing. All he will tell me is that his name is Shaine? and that the company is ?Legal Affidavit Services?. I am VERY suspicious at this point, but he then proceeds to confirm my social security number, my bank account number, and my email address and reconfirms my phone number. He tells me to hold, because he has to read me an ?affidavit? and that I?m being sued for a default on a cash loan from US Bank. He then reads off a very legal sounding document about a defaulted loan and the fines and penalties I have incurred. He states they have sent several emails and I have not responded. He gets very aggressive as I am not cooperating and being very aggressive myself. At this point I am super pissed. I KNOW this is a scam, yet they have my info. I have received loans in the past, and though not recent there is still that fear I had initially.

He basically tells me that I can settle it now, or I will be sued and picked up by an ?officer? at my home or work. I asked him if it was a police officer and he simply said ?someone from my office? I told him they would get knocked out as I know at this point for sure it?s a scam.

I have called them back several times today at (619) 342-0094 to toy with them. They hang up on me every time.

I reported them to the states attorney office in CA, but unfortunately they said there is nothing they can do because it?s out of country and out of their jurisdiction. The state attorney office said they were glad I didn?t fall for it, but 3rd parties were entitled to get my personal information under the ?freedom of information act? and that I should write my congressman. I decided to write my blog first. I am severely pissed about this whole episode?

They also called my Husband and told him that he took out a payday loan for $300-$400 and that it was from First US Bank, and that we owed them $1000 or tomorrow it would become $5000 and that the cops were being called on him and that they had an affidavit (sp) and that we were in big trouble, and then I went online and googled them and read what I already knew was they were scammers, but jsut wanted to say Thanks to ever realized they were scammers.