I received a call and they left a message, an Indian female voice stating that me or my attorney should give her office a call back.  I called and it said all lines are busy.

v/r
Celenna

I got a call from these people today saying i did some fraud> dont believe them they are a scam and when i started questioning  them they hung up on me but the person they said was handling my case was David Copper all they wanted is your information so they can get money from you. and they stated that they will call your employer and let your employer know what kind of person you are all lies so just hang up on them. and they call from a 000 number or a unknown number.

I got a call from 661-451-2903 from a "John Smith!" Yeah right! This guy could barely speak english and he's John Smith??? These are a bunch of scammers calling from Nigeria or India trying to con you out of money you don't owe. I got a similar calll last month and, since they had my SSN, I put a security block on all 3 credit files. I also closed my checking account (they had my bank name) and let my employer know that I'd been scammed. ASK THEM FOR A CASE NUMBER! They don't have one. DON'T SEND THEM MONEY! They are low-life scum trying to scare you.

OMG! thank you so much for the heads up.  I was actually going to Western Union the money to them last night.  THanks!  

s/n as soon as i told them i would send the money, they kept calling every 2 mins.

I have been recieving threatening calls from a David Cooper number 661-451-2903, but the number comes up on my caller i.d as 0000.  They started calling Sat. at 7 a.m. and didn't stop.  I went to the police and got a harrassment report.  They are a SCAM.  They told me that they was coming to my job and arrest me today, or to get out of it, pay 600.00.  They told me that I would have to pay by PREPAY DEBIT CARD FROM WALMART ONLY.  That was it!  I knew it was a SCAM after that. they gave me a case number and everything.  Don't Pay them,  Do not be scared.  They are not a legal firm at all. Go to the police.

Read this excerpt from my previous post---this is where they got their information from:

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.

I received a call from David Cooper. He left a very threatening email about being sued if I didn't have my lawyer call them. I called back he did have my ssn. When I asked what it was about he said a cash advance. I informed I payed it back he stated the bank refused to pay so I'm being sued. I informed I can prove that it's been payed. He got angry and said just to have my lawyer call them. I informed I will look at my account and speak with my lawyer as I do have one.

I called back after I spoke with the company who I received the loan from. They confirmed pymnt and informed me of the scam. I gave them all the info I have and they are reporting it.

I googled the number and found this site. After reading I called them back pretending I was going to pay. I said I need I wanted to pay but by check and needed an address. I was placed on hold so long my phone died. I called back and they said credit or debit only and if I didn't have a card to buy a pre paid card from walmart. Then when I said I'll have my lawyer handle it I was hung up on. Now they just pick up and hang up.

I received a message from a middle eastern man that I couldn't even understand stating that I needed to call back within seconds of hearing the VM. Then when I did call back, I spoke with an EXTREMELY rude female that ended up threatening me saying I would lose my job and that my life would be ruined ! The thing that freaked me out was that she had all my personal info, ssn, address, bithdate! Where do they get that from ?

Thank you so much. I received a phone call from this company at 7am the first caller said he was calling regarding the criminal charges I was facing. When I notified him that I had no idea what he was referring to he panicked and told me I had to call the attorney David Cooper at 661-451-2903 and speak to him. It took 4 phone calls and an hour of my time for him to be rude and tell me not to interrupt him while he read the affidavit. Mr. "Cooper" then informed me that I had received a wire transfer from a company that he would not release the name to and that when they tried to collect either my bank refused to pay or the account was closed. So rather than the company coming after me for money they are pursuing criminal charges of fraud, internet check fraud and theft. When I asked if my local police department would have information he told me they would and that he couldn't send me anything in writing but that I would be served and arrested at my place of business this coming Friday. When I asked him for the address of my place of business he gave me my home address. I have filed harassment charges with my local police department and I suggest anyone who gets a call like this do the same. Local law enforcement had no idea what this guy was talking about & informed me it was probably just a collection agency trying to scare me.

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 received the same voice mail. I called back and they were threatening with taking me to superior court. They let me know about taking me to SUPERIOR COURT three times. They also said that they would contact my employer so that they knew what kind of person they had hired. Then he went to ask me if I wanted to settle my debt by paying right then and there by phone. I said no, he got even more aggressive and reminded me that I would be attending SUPERIOR court

After that phone call I was shocked, so once I regained my unshocked like state, I called back, asked for their name, lawfirm name, phone number and address. They told me their name Kevin Bullard and the lawfirm was mcgougan. He REFUSED to give me his address though.

I received a message instructing me to call back.  The caller said that they have not heard from me or my attorney.  They also said not to ignore the call or I would hear from their attorney.  The caller ended his  message  by saying, "good luck as the situation unfolds on you."