There is this guy who keeps changing his name that is calling me at work and at home and all of the people I put down as references when I took out a payday loan. I have paid all my payday loans. He is threatening me that he will take me to court he has been calling me and my friends for 2 months now the number he has changed many times now he has a number of 646-843-6053. He is going by the name of Shawn Marks. Last time he used the name Michael Schneider from US Marshalls. I checked with the payday people and apparently he got the information off the internet and stoled my social security and all my info that I had put online on a payday loan website. I am ignoring his calls. From what I have been told this is a scam so I dont want to waste my time with this idiot.

i also took a payday loan and now i am getting a phone call theatening me , i will be arrested within 24 hours, the name this person used was fred arrington,from phone number 646-843-6053,and is theatening to make our like hell.  please help

this guy called my fiance and threatened to sue her for 7000 dollars on a payday loan for 350!then he starts calling her names like and stuff when she disagreed with him!what a chump! i gotta say i had alot of fun degrading his humanity.and since he is so persistent i think i will be calling him all hours of the day and making his life as fun as hes made ours.my advice,if you get a call from this bozo dont take him seriously.im getting in contact with a fraud detection firm to see if i cant get this guy locked up.i tried to reverse trace his number but that would cost like 10 bucks and theres no guarantee that would even do anything but if anybody else wants to give it a shot its easy,just find any online directory and go to reverse.

Gotta a call from the guy(MAX) today saying I had not paid back a loan I never even took out.  He told me if I didn't pay he would take me to court.  My girlfiend looked up the number and came across this website.  Watch out for Mr. BS.

I got the same call today from the same number.  What a jerk.

Yes I recieved a call from a man whom called himself Chris Atkinson, from the same number. I had the same threats. They called my friend that I used as a reference. They even called my work. I called a friend from another payday loan company. He told me it was a scam. I asked for a copy of my contract. They said they couldnt provide that till I payed them. I was told to ask them for there lisence number to practice in Ill.. I talked to 3 people and they all talked like they were from another country. Broken english, I had a hard time believing he was a sherriff when i could hardly understand him.

they called to my work phone.

I just got this same freaking phone call from an Indian man who claimed to be someone named Jason. At first, it was a number with all 0's and I answered it finally because he called like 15 times in a row while I was at work. He said he was from the FBI and had my full ss# so I hung up on him. He called from the 052-594-517 number and said he was from a State Financial place and that he was sending someone to arrest me because I'd been charged with bad checks or something. When I called the number back, it wasn't a real number of course. He messed up the 2nd time and gave a number to call back from and I went to the police station. When the officer called the number, it repeatedly just kept saying the circuit is busy. It never worked. Just incase, i went to my bank though and made sure there was no suspicious activity on it.

This is a scam. The Better Business Bureau has released many alerts on this scam, google "bbb.org alert phony debt collector"  Scams mutate so read all the alerts to get a flavor of what they are.

I have had the same problem. They keep calling and when my assistant manager told them to stop calling, they changed name number and location, but still call me back and they are ALL INDIAN!! Wish someone would put a stop to them!!!

Yeah, same Indian dude (only name of Shawn Phillips) said I needed to send them 500 or I would be paying 9,000 in court!!  And when he called my work and my assistant manager blasted him, i get another call a few hrs later from a different name location and company (but still freaking Indian!!) so go figure!!

I agree with you 100 percent..I have been getting harassed since yesterday from that same number only it's a guy and when he called my work, my assistant manager answered and told him not to call here again, so then out of the blue his name number and location change...this is some b***s*** that seriously needs to stop!! I have filed a complant with the AG, and 2 town police stations. Hope someone catches these SOBs!!

I received multiple calls on my cell from a John Carter threatening to have me arrested also from a 052-594-517 from the State Finacial of Texas asking me to agree to pay 5000.00

I rec'd this same call just a few minutes ago... phone number (or at least that is what showed up and the number this guy left and threaten to throw me into jail! 052-594-517) I could not even understand the accent.  I have also recevied this same message from different phone numbers and to my home phone, my family's phones, my ex-!  This is friggin ridiculous!  Complete harrassment!  How do I get them to stop? To leave me alone???

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 a call from a guy with a middle eastern indian accent said his name was Eric Watters could not understand him too well. He said he works for the Federal Crimes Investigation Dept and said too call him because there was a lawsuit against my name and ssn

Got a call from 052 today. Listened to the messege. Office Harrington(HEAVE indian accent). I called them back listened to this scam and then said I was going to talk to my lawyer. "Office Harrington" then said, " You want to take this to court or settle now," and I said "Court." He then got pissed and yelled "Good luck owing us $9,000."

What a joke.
Don't listen to one work these people have to say, they are all scam artist losers and will soon themselves end up in jail.

same thing with me.   exactly.  same phone number and all.  when i started asking them questions they hung up.  052-594-517    his name is stew martin

Hi frank, can you tell me more in detail how to deal with these guys. Will they put me jail??? Email fauxyb@gmail.com.......

Wow, I have been receiving threatening calls as well. They call my work saying they will have me arrested for a loan that they gave me.  Funny thing is that when I spoke to these people, they have heavy indian accent, I asked them what was the name of the bank that loaned me the $$$ they are accusing me off, how much was the so called loan and most important thing....where's the notices they usually send you? Letter? Notice of collection? He couldn't tell me any of this information.  So I called my bank and the ONLY bank I have and asked if they receive any type unusual transaction from any bank and they told me "NO".  

I spoke to a guy name Hector Boyd, Michael Williams and other names they used.  It's very suspecious cause they have heavy, indian accent and I can't imagine an indian speaking person could have names like this for reals.  They did too tell me that I will get arrested the next day if I don't pay this loan they claim they gave me.  Also, first time I spoke with them they were so quick to asked for my bank info to settle it with a payment over the  phone...first call was coming from Floria, then New York....now I'm getting calls from just a 441-48 number....

I got a call from the same 9 digit number, that has to from another country, like India maybe?

I asked him to mail all of the documentation to me but he said he couldn't.  Hmmm I wonder why?

Some Moron

A friend of mine and I got a call from "Officer Tom Atkinson" an Indian man with an American name,  he said I would be arrested for not paying pay day loans ??? Never heard of or used them, my friend and I 3 way called him just to aggrivate him the way he aggrivated us he said "You Criminals you get arrested" with an Indian accent of course, the number 646-843-6053 came up as a New York number but when we asked where he was calling from he said Columbus, Ohio, of course we called him on it, asked him if he was sure he wasn't calling from a WiFi cafe in India pulling a scam, needless to say he hung up, we plan to 3 way call him EVERY-DAY it's kind of funny.  I think everyone who has had a call from this Indian man of a thousand American names should call him EVERYDAY with us. He'll close up shop soon enough, oh and Frank - about him having the ss# being identity fraud, good tip I'll have to mention that to him on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and so on.  Thanks Guys.

I received a phone call about today from this indian woman claiming to be an officer and she needed to contact my boyfirend about fraud...She said he was being sued by twenty different people and if he didnt call back he would be arrested tomorrow morning. I then hung up and called the local sherrifs office to see if it was real, they had no information on file about any of this. She left a number for him to call back but with no area code and the number on my caller ID was 052-594-517. About twenty minutes later she called back and I told her I had contacted a lawyer and the police and I needed her full name and company...She got defensive ahnd said she will transfer me to her supervisor and hung up. I wish we could sue the hell out of these people for harrassment.

This guy is using VoIP Lines and DID lines registering back to various XO Communications areas.  The FTC also is aware and it takes them months to responde to these complaints so they aren't too likely to be much help either.

But your best but it to do like Sean is, and I am.  Your number is likely to not getting harrassed, this guy will change numbers and VoIP providers and keep going, so your best bet is to tie up his time, waste his time and get as many numbers as you can from him.

Somewhere down the chain it's likely that this guy is also using stolen credit cards to pay for the VoIP services too, and that may get a little more attention.

I have been calling him and harassing him. It's funny that this guy is so dumb that he thinks someone would believe the justice department would arrest u over s payday loan. I asked him if he was part of an all Indian police force. All with American names. I also have been calling him and pretending I want to pay him back, giving him false debit card numbers. I will make this f****r sorry he bothered me.

I recieved this message also. The number on my caller ID was 052-594-517 (not even a valid number). When I answered the first time, I asked who was calling. He told me he was Pat Harriington (isn't that the guy who was on One Day at a Time- but he wasn't Indian and I think he is dead). He asked for me by name. When I asked what company he was with, he told me he was with the Department of Collections. What government agency is that?????????  I just hung up. He called right back. He was very belligerent and asked why I hung up. I asked who he was calling for. When he said my name again, I told him I was dead and to call back when the caller ID had a complete number. He called 3 more times that I didn't answer. About 30 minutes later, he called back and left a voicemail that he was "Officer" Pat Harrington and to call me back at this number or he would have me "ARRESTED" and hauled away to the embarrassment of my friends. Where do the gets these people. At least teach them to speak in plain understandable english and inform them that a threat such as this is a criminal offense, but what Attorneys General wants to go to Bangla-Indiastan to find these people. The truth is the debt collectors by bad debts for penny's on the dollar and have no legal grounds to seek compensation to settle the debt nor even the ability to clear the debt from your credit report if you pay the debt. A serious accident that was not my fault has left me with mountains of debt and limited resources to pay the debts, so instead I have to suffer through these nutballs and Hindians from now until the end of time.  So, my advice to each of you is at least have a little fun with them and string them along. Just google "prank calls" if you need any ideas. I once told a telemarketer that was selling rain gutters that he couldn;t gutters on my house because I lived in a teepee. He asked me where I bought it.  Another one wanted to lower my mortgage interest. I told her I lived in a Habitat for Humanities house and I got a zero percent interest rate loan and could she beat that. She (another Indian) said she would have to get with her supervisor, but she was sure there was something the could do to help. PRICELESS!

I am getting the same thing! They have my cell, my work, and friends phone numbers and he says there is a law suit against me! Thank you for your help he says his name is officer Michael Bennett to me. I will report him.

I had some payday loans and did a debt consolidation and i get these every now and then say I'm in a bank  fraud case and I'm going to get arrested if i don't pay them.  I've talked with my case rep that I'm dealing with and it's just the payday loan places trying to get paid.  Ask them to mail you documentation for everything tell them that you never gave them your SSN# and that's identity theft that they even have it.  They call from this number,  6468436053