The posts from "Christopher" and "Daniel" are fake.

A Mr. Mack Williams stated that he was with the law and investigations department.  He said that 10 attornys are listening and are going to file federally against me.  When I said that he was a fraud, he hung up.

I get a phone call from this group every day.  For a loan which was taken out on an account which did not exist in 2009.  When I told him, I was reporting for fraud and extortion quickly hung up.

A man with a heavy Indain accent call my employer and said that he was trying to locate me.  He stated tha he was officer Roger Mack and there were 3 warrant for my arrest and it was a legal matter against my social security number.  The secretary gave me the phone number and it was  646-328-4713.  I wonder why they would call my employer.   As talking to my employer I look at my phone and I had a call from a 1-0000 and have a message from that number.  The message was mark Urgent.
Officer Max staterd the was a urgent message and the I would be facing legal consquences if I did not reply to this call.
Woulld you please have them stop calling my home and employer. I would like to be placed on a do not call list.

I get calls everyday put when they call it comes up 000 on my phone when they leave a meassage they say to call back 6463284713 its a man claiming to be a officer Frank Harris badge number 1098 he has a strong indian accent calling my job say n its a legal matter n the cops will arrest me if I don't give them money for a debt. Its very annoying after reading other peoples testimonies I now know they r a fraud.

I keep getting calls at my job from a indian guy, who will not state the purpose of his call

If you are going to be part of the scam please learn how to write a message in proper english so we ca understand you!!!!

Yea Right!!!

Mr David Cooper phoned my employer and claimed he is from a legal department and wanted to me, this is one of the biggest fraud in America today, I wish the authorities deal with these people, as I believe they can be traced. Christopher and Daniel are in this camp of fake,fraud people who want to reap where they did not sow.  God will intervene so that you be exposed and confess this is my prayer to you guys.

This a-hole with an Indian accent called saying his name was Adam Smith - Yeah, right. Adam Smith with an Indian accent?!?! LMAO! When I tell him I know this is a scam, he gets rude, nasty, threatens to arrest me...Bring it you scammer punk!! I work for a Government Agency and the headaches for your false company are about to begin. Everyone out there, DO NOT GIVE THEM PERSONAL INFO. They gleen your information from the Internet and call you with false info claiming you have to pay them money or you will be arrested. First - If you have a court case against you for collections, you will be served with an official court summons. THEN and ONLY THEN, do you know the debt is legitimate. If a company cannot tell you their address, a good call back number, or the amount of the original debt and the original collector, IT IS FALSE. Additionally, a debt collection comapny is required to inform you of the following. "This is an attempt to collect a debt and any such information obtained will be used for that purpose." Legitimate collectors rattle this off before they begin discussing your account. If that step is not done, They are not legit. A**holes!!!!

I received multiple calls a day.  I could barely understand the person on the phone.  He sounded Indian (from India).  He did not state who he was with or what his message was regarding.  It almost sounded recorded because the messages were identical each time.  He said I should call him back the 'second' I receive the message.  If I didn't call him back, he wishes me luck or something.  I could not understand everything he said.  My wife and I have found ourselves overwhelmed by debt from medical issues and other disasters in our personal lives and I am assuming it is a debt collector.  They all use similar tactics.  The bottom line is this.  If you have debt situation where an arrest is possible, you will receive a letter and the local authorities will contact you.  If a reputable law firm communicates with you, it will be with mail and/or phone and the law firm WILL identify themselves very clearly and their intent.  If you receive something from a law firm regarding legal action, it WILL be certified mail.  If you receive calls from people who refuse to identify themselves, you are dealing with slimy collectors who will lie to scare you into paying them.

Obviously, we should all pay our bills, but if you want to catch up on past due bills, check your credit report and see who has the bill.  In most cases, the original creditor can tell you what collection agency currently has the account for you to pay on.  Don't respond to nonsensical threats from people who won't identify themselves.  Think about it.  Some random guy calls you with an unknown organization and claims the local authorities are listening in on three way and if they don't verbally hear you make a deal with this guy you will be arrested.

Does that make sense?  To be arrested, there will be a warrant for your arrest and you will need to be identified.  How would the supposed officer have any assurance the guy on the phone is you and why would they take 'your word' you are now going to take care of things.  The best defense is knowledge.  Know the law and what can and cannot be done.

Collectors are not allowed to lie, but proving and prosecuting a dishonest collector (most of them are dishonest and slimy in my experience) can cost you money, will not hurt the collector that much and will NOT result in a worthwhile monetary award to you.  That is why they lie, because it scares 30% of their victims into paying them money the victim does not have (grocery money, gas money, etc...) and when they are caught, it costs them very little.

These guys are really helpful for me. In such condition they helped me and now nobody is calling me. I have check with online company and their is a legal case under my name and so they really helpful for me. AND IF ANYBODY IS TELLING THAT THESE GUYS ARE FRAUD THEN THEY MIGHT BE WRONG.
Because these guys are really helful guys.

they help me

I have been getting up to 16 calls a day from these people.  They say the police and courts are listening on the phone and if I don't pay them what I owe that I will be immediately arrested.

i have been getting calls from this number for 3 days now, after telling them to leave me alone and i knew this was a scam. I am really getting tired of this as it is round 2 with these dang people. How do you make them stop

I had about 3 to 6 phone calls from this phone number 646-328-4713 a day.  This person kept calling my employer and demanding to speak to me or my supervisor.  I did not get his name because i could not understand him he had an accent.  All he said that my name was pulled out through tht internet that i had alligation against me and that i needed a lawyer.  I told him that I do not understand and hang up.  And he called againa wanting to speak to my supervisor. I told him not to call again.  And he called again.  I hung up on him.  Then he called my home phone and left message to call this number.  I tried calling but no one answer the phone.

Please don't respond to thi number thet are scan, they scan me out of a lot of money.

I sorry to hear what happen to you I was scan by the same people, they got out of me $980.00, they call me a weel ao and told me that they were from the BCI (Bureau of Criminal Investigation) they told me if I don't pay I will be pick-up. So I panic and paid they the money that Theres a wirt out on me for fruad, I couldn't sleep, eat even go to work, but they last strw was when they called me last week and told me that I still owe $500.00. I told this person that I don't have anymore money he told me that he was going to beat my a**, I repet back to his aswhat he said, was going to make my lif a living hell, that was the straw, but no only were they call my home, my work, cell phone, leaving me 65 messages in one day spreading information to co-worker I contact our seceruity people they contact Federal Protect Service Homeland Security they were brought in and call this company after the officer ID him self to them, informing them that they were calling and haresing employees on federal bld, he asking the name of the he told them they were BCI office informed him that there was no such company only investighation was FBI, they hung up, the officer called a friend of his in ny to run the number came back as a naimal shelter. zi am not going to stop until they find them since they that day I have not head from them, but I am not going to stop.

I got a call tonite from a Officer Darren Smith Badge # 3990 with the call back number 512-647-2343. I did a revese look up for the number and it said it was a unlisted number from Austin TX and when I asked them what state they were calling from they said New York. They told me that my husband took out a pay day loan from Us Cash Advance (wich we did not) they said that if we did not pay $424.00 then they would take us to court and we would have to pay more then $2000 and possibly go to jail for fraud. The man I talked to was defenently not american and when I called him on his english he got mad and very rude. I have gotten these calls in the past but this time it freaked me out because he had my husbands ss number, my bank name and my address. So now Im not too sure what to do!!?? Should I report it to the police or some where or just wait and see if they do anything???

Had the same types of calls as above from about 7 different numbers all in different states.  Today was a new one...it popped up as 911 on my caller ID.  Now why the heck would 911 be calling me???  They don't even have the right name when they call and it seems the more I argue with them, the more they call.  Needless to say, I will be reporting them.

called claiming to be a police officer and if he didnt get any money for some fraud I pulled that i would find myself behind bars.  said his name was detective alfred from 646-328-4713

I got a call from this same guy and the same number.  Yes he had an accent and was real rude and told me that my ex husband was involved in something illegal and and my name was on the documents too.  I told him I ain't seen him in over 10 years and he proceeded to tell me when he calls back I better have some information for him or I will find myself behind bars.  My husband was involved in some shady dealings and I didn't know if it was somebody trying to get to me and my kids cuz they can't find him, so I called the police, they informed me of this site and that this guy is a scam artist, so when he calls me back in a little while I'ma tell him that I discussed it with my ex and we will pay what is owed and to call his number and guess what......it will be the number to the BC Police dept.

Recieved a call today from that number claiming to be an officer Alfred Marshall . Stating basically all the same jazz as above. Thank god I refused to give them any information. I sent a complaint to the FBI and to FTC . Also informed anybody that I may have listed as a reference in the past to ignore their calls. I really hope our government can put a stop to these people. There is some law against impersinating a police officer right ?

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 just received all called for this number and left a voice mail. They said they was trying to reach a friend of mine regarding a legal matter. When I call back the same guy would left the message tells me to hold on and he will get Darren Smith. Then Darren Smith gets on the phone and what do you know it's the same voice.  So I called back and ask for supposely Office Darren Smith (which by the way would not give his badge#. He informed me that my friend had listed me as a guarentee on a loan and since he didn't pay I was held responsible. He then says he needs my date of birth to verify that I am who I say I am. Yeah right. Do he honestly think I was that stupid. I asked for what type of loan was taken out and how much. He would not give me any information and keep saying he will be sending the cops to my house to arrest me. I told him I can't be arrest on something I didn't sign or approved. I told him that I will be contacting my attorney to sue his company for harrasment. He then hangs up but then have the nerve to call right back.

Just got a call for a co-worker to call this number.  The guy sounded Indian and sounded almost out of breath like he had been running or something.  He said he needed to get a hold of my co-worker because his credit had been compromised.  He said his name was Officer William Scott with BCI and that he should get a call as soon as possible.

Same thing happening here. A guy by the name of Michael Black left messages from the same 646 number) stating I need to call him back about a legal matter. Well I called the number back several times but no one answered. Not 5 minutes later an unidentifiable number (10000) called me, same Michael Black guy from the legal department of VPN. He stated 5832bs was my case file number and that I had 3 counts of fraud attached to my SSN, none of which I have ever committed, then he transfered me to his manager.
Manager Officer Jack Gates (different guy, different accent) who stated my case number was 5433. He then went on to say that the "legal case file" attached to my SSN could be resolved over the phone. Before we got that far, I asked him what SSN he had on file. He replies with the last four digits being 7825. Needless to say, that is not my SSN. When I notified him of this he thanked me and hung up.

Moral of the story: These guys are idiots...

I received a voicmail from Mr. Bennet today.  Same story, very threatening.  I have received these calls before and I have reported to the FCC, AG and my local sheriff.

I just took a call at work for a guy that works with me (he's off today) - the call pretty much echoes that of BedlamX. I was told my co-worker had "Criminal Allegations against his name and social security number."  It sounded hinky - the caller gave me too much information to possibly be legit. So I Gogled  the number and am grateful there is such a venue that people getting these calls can share their experiences. I'll let my co-worker know about the call, and he can do as he wishes, but I'll let him know that this is a scam. (But for what? That people turn over their checking account info to have their accounts sucked dry? Or who do these yahoos REALLY work for??)  Thanks, everyone, for your helpful posts!  * Does telling them you want to meet in person really shut this "Michael Black" up, or is reporting the call to the AG's office the better way to go, or what?

These guys crack me up!  I think they are of Indian Decent. I speak a little Hindi, and set a few things straight!  These guys are NOT legit. They are nothing more than a collection company trying to collect on a debt, even if it is not yours.  They call whatever steve jones or jon smith they can get a number for out of the phone book.  Offer to meet them in person to take care of the issue, and they'll stop calling...