They actually left a message on my friends cell phone # for me...threatening a legal matter and lawsuit and that reports and complaints had me made against me re loans.  1st of all I know what loans I have and have had and they would know how to get a hold of me. Definately some sore of spam, or con.

i am getting a phone call from this company, same mo as the other ones, never an english speaking person, claiming i took out a payday advance and still owe, they had my email and claimed they had my ss#  but would not tell me it when i asked they got very rude said they were taking legal actions when i asked for the name of the company they hung up on me.......i had my  mom call them and she asked the same things, they hung up on her, she called them back and told them if they called her house again she would call the police..........i have never had a cash advance or cash loan in my life, the only loans that i have applied for was my school loans so if that is how they are getting my info i did that online so please beware.................Also if anyone knows who to report this to other than online please let me know.

I keep getting calls from this number claiming they have my work info, my family info and that I need to be at a virginia county courthouse because they are sueing me for loans that I took out and threaten me that someone is going to come to my house and arrest me. Its always a foreign spoken person. Also said they were with the Dept of Defense. I ask for information, they get mad and hang up.

This is not a legal company, it is a scam trying to get you to pay them money you do not owe, if you give them your payment information they will drain you bank account. I am currently a law student and know my rights, if you are to be served with papers for a lawsuit they are done in person by a member of law enforcement or someone that has been hired by the attny. I would suggest that you take all their information down and contact your local law enforcement.

Got message from this number saying there is a law suit against me and they were sending an officer to my home and if they could not find me there they would send someone to my work.  I do not know what they are talking about.

One more thing I alost forgot. He told me his name was Frank Miller, which is not a foreigner he is actually a comic book artist. They should atleast try and pick name that are unknown.

I have been receiveing the same calls every day for the past month. They are acusing me of getting a loan, and threatening a lawsuit. I asked the lawyer to patch me through to cashone, and the only information that he could give me was the date i received the loan in my account which was two months before my account was even opened. They also stated that my reference was a john doe and he asked me if i knew him.  I told him he was stupid and that i was in the millitary and he needed to contact the fbi because either they or someone else is stealing my identity

This foreign guy called me regarding a fake debt I owe on aloan I no longer have. THIS IS A FRAUD!!!
He said they were from the investigation legal processing division...

Thank you so much for all your info.  i have received several of these calls and have asked them who they are before giving any info.  I was worried that they were scammers trying to get recordings of me stating my name and so on.  My fiance though I was being overly cautious but now I realize that I did the right thing.  If this continues I will have to change my number and close my acocunt. I am really tired of these threats.  Who can I talk to in my area about this?  I live in TN

I have received a phone call today from 7174470481 from someone who claims his name is Neil Johnson and states he is a senior officer of some sort. This guy also included the name of my employer (which is my correct current employer) as I have applied for a cash advance online before. Do not fall for their scam and give then NO information whatsoever!!!!!!!!!!!!!...........................

They are persistent and brazen.  Left messages and called back after I had spoken with them.  Claimed to be a law firm called American Legal Services in Pennsylvania, collecting for Cash One USA, including attorneys Mark Jones and Tiger Taylor.  Said there were criminal activities and bank fraud on the part of a friend of mine -- not me!  Repeatedly alleged to be attorneys licensed to practice law in PA.

I got a phone call from Nel Johnson about 3 minutes ago telling me that I was being sued & so everything that he stated about my job social & date of birth I told him was a lie. I advised him that the call was being traced & that I was reporting him to the proper authorities. I advised him that he was harrassing me & that I know where he lives. He countinued to talk & so I terminated the call. I have been reporting these calls to the authorities but they tell me that i can not do anything until they do something to my bank account.

I've received about 5 messages on my home phone and 1 call to my place of employment, which happens to be the Federal Judiciary!!!  These people are nuts with their threats.. Mr. Johnson actually started shouting at me and slammed the phone down when I informed him of a trace being put on this phone number!!!

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

Just got my second call of the month from SEAN WILSON at 717-447-0481 who asked me to get a pencil and paper to take down his info. I told him "ok, just a minute."  I muted the phone and while he was waiting, I was listening. He was talking to someone and said, "Wait, this one will do it."  I came back to the line, told him I knew who he was and that I had already reported him to the FBI which I did the first time they called. He began screaming at me and I disconnected the line. These people need to be stopped, but until they are, I'll keep hanging up!

i got a call from this number today he had my address and name and said i took out a payday loan using this adress in March of 2008 which i found very paculiar since i had not even lived at the address they were prividing until May 2009. he was very  foreign, arabic accent, said his name was Bob Johnson. i asked to speak to the manager and this man with even a stronger arabic accent picked up and said his name was Frank Miller, i chuckled and said "Oh your name Frank Miller is it?" and thats  when he went off on me cursing, calling me a crazy lady a bi*** and a prostitute, he said that if i called the cops it would be on my head whatever that means. they have been calling me for months and its ridicuous!!! when i tried to call back asking for their business name they just kept hanging up!

Yup, they called me looking for my girlfriend - something about fraud, social security etc. its a scam. A month ago my roommate answered and they threatened to kill him, even though they were looking for my girlfriend. These people are desperate and this is ridiculous.

just got the same phone call today - i do have a payday loan out standing - and this is how these scammers get your information. they are not from the company you owe to (if you do owe) and once you ask them to send you a 'bill' or 'account summary' they can't answer that question or say they can't do that.  well.. that  lets you know right there - that they are not legit but people think they are bc they have all your information - that they got from the payday loans, computers, etc.  this foreign guy (with lots of background noise and people sceaming and talking) said i have a lawsuit against me and that my social security number was being investigated and that i better call him back so he can help me get out of this mess.   UM I THINK NOT.  this is truely a scam - do not talk to them - do NOT give them any more information that they don't already have and do NOT set up a payment plan with them..      - this phone says out of area on caller id but the number he gives in the message is 7174470481.

I just received this same call from the same guy.  He called my mother-in-law's phone and I called him back and he told me all this same stuff, he told me my address, ssn, and bank and account number and had it all correct.  He started raising his voice so I raised mine and said I wanted more information but he wouldn't give it to me, hung up on me.  I called him back again and he started in on me again, yelling at me, so I yelled back and said I had every right to know what info he had, again, hung up on me.  Very foreign, same noisy background.  I might start calling him and harrassing him!

I just recevied a call from the same number 7174470481 from a foreign guy telling me his name is Nel Johnson and he is from the Law and Investigation unit. I got his number and he said that if I didn't call him back in a half hour, he would be calling me back. I quickly advised him "no you wont, I don't have time for your scam and I will be turning your number in to the Metro Investigation Unit" and I disconnected the call. THIS IS A SCAM. DO NOT LET IT ALARM YOU.

I just got a call from this number a foreign guy claiming there is a lawsuit aginst me lots of noise and very foreign

i appreciate this info, because i got this same phone call today, the guy was very rude, lots of background noise, and i couldnt understand  half of what he said. He stated that i took out a cash advance and that they needed money or they were taking legal action, he said he had my email, my ss#, and my bank account. i had my mother call them cause i was freaking out, being that i have never taken out any kind of pay day or cash advance, my mother called and got the same guy, she couldnt understand him and told him she wanted a manager, when she asked what the account was they hung up on her, she called back and told them that i have never taken a cash advance and she knew it was a scam, and told them if they calld her house again she would call the law. then she called back and asked for the address to send the check so she could see who they were and they gave her some fake address in pa. now the only loans that i have applied for period are my school loans and i did have to approve them online so im wondering if thats where they got my info..........also if anyone knows who i should report this to please let me know, i am a teacher and if they start calling me at work it could get me into a lot of trouble, how can i make them stop? please help

I just got this call as well.  Grace Jones from Legal Investigations.  Excuse me - Grace was a man.  Lots of stuttering, background noise, etc.  I am reporting to my local FBI office - just like the last one.

Yes, they called my friend and threatened her if she don't help me. Also, trying to get my personal info on the phone today and said I have 3 judgements against me. To begin with, if so, and being sued, I would get a letter not threatening calls like this plus they said if I don't calm down they would hang up on me and he wanted some information. I told him I'm not giving any information out until I know who is calling and why. He was from africa or indian or something.

I have received many calls like this from many other numbers for years.  After many hours of research it is a scam.  They try to get you to pay for payday loans they say you took out and never paid back.  The catch is they will not stop calling.  The pose as law enforcement officers, attorneys and others.  They threaten you with law suits and going to jail.  They cannot do this.  It actually is against the law to threaten.  If you question them they get mad and sometimes hang up on you.  If you tell them they are scammers they will say nasty vulgar things.  Not like collectors that are legitimate.  If people stop paying them and just hang up they would be out of business. They work with fancy phone equipment that will send the calls to call centers in other countries.  Our law enforcement cannot catch them.  Even if you did have a payday loan and never paid it back they cannot throw you in jail.  They will send you notification in the mail or call you and and make arrangements.  Not scarey.  The jokers try to scare you into paying money you do not owe.  There are posts all over the web and there is one inparticular that tells you all about the scam and who to report them.  I did report them but it does no good.  They cannot be caught.  They had so much of my information it scared me.  I changed bank accounts.  Flagged my credit report and blocked the numbers on my cell phone.  If you have ever tried to apply for any loan on-line they pose as lenders and suck your personal information when you input on-line.  There has never been any money taken from my account but they have called my mother and told her I was going to jail which scared her to death.  Tha is how I knew they compromised some website because my mother is always a reference for me.  Don't fall for this scam!!!

I got this same kind of call about 30 minutes before Brenda did, telling me same thing and saying lawsuit and fraud against me.

I got a call from this phone number saying about my social security number, bank info and license. I don't know it was from alice johnson American Association Division investigative department. I don't know who this is. Said a law suit against me.