I just got a call, out of area, no phone number. Thick Indian accent, said I needed to get a lawyer because I face 5 counts of whatever. When I told him to slow down, he seemed frustrated. Then I said what case? What are you talking about? He tells me 'WELL IF YOU WOULD SHUT UP YOUR MOUTH, I WILL TELL YOU"!
I told him, how dare you call me to tell me to shut up! You are insulting to your own race!
He hung up on me.

i keep getting the same thing same person different names last time they said there were coming to arrest me for 9 months i need to know how to get these people off my back can i sue them or something man they never stop

Yes, I totally agree!  They threaten and harrass in their messages.  They called me sometime last fall and then started again in the spring and here they are again, just about 5 minutes ago.  The other times they were a different phone number.  In last fall, I spoke to one of them and they stated I owed a payday loan.  I have never gotten a payday loan.  I did inquire about payday loans online, and decided not to get one.  He threatened I would be arrested.  The messages also state I need to call back or my attorney and that if I do not return the call, they wish me luck on what is about to unfold upon me.  Ridiculous!

The same guy just called me.  Its a bit amusing to me, that is when I have time to play his game.
Nick Stevens needs to work on his english.  Thank goodness he doesn't have my work number.  Btw...I too am waiting to be arrested. Two weeks and counting.

My phone call was from the phone number 760-4833146 he claimed to be a Kevin from Law firm of California.  I was really upset, as I have never had a loan processed through payday loans.  He would not tell me which firm it was or how much I got or even when I got it he wanted me to pay 981.00 or he was arresting me in 2 days charging me with Theft and Fraud.   I was so upset that I started making phone calls and researching the internet, to find out that these phone calls where frauds.  Thank you everyone for posting these comments as this guy had me so upset that I almost made payments.

Yes.. I just received a call from a guy name Nick Stevens a Senior Attorney.. He told me he will be sending the sheriff office in my county to come and serve me with papers and arrest and take me down to the court house. If I didn't pay my loan that I have no knowledge of even taking one out... Its just scares me knowing that he has all my information.. thats my life.. my home address, work address my ssn # my bank account #, I will end up having to change all my personal information including my number....why would people do this to someone?!?... I don't understand????

I got a phone call from this number informing me that I owe a payday loan and a sheriff will be coming to arrest me.  I never applied for a payday loan and the account that they said that they deposited the account into is not even existing!!!!  They keep calling my job and leaving messages to my co-workers, telling everybody that there's a legal case against me!!!! What the hell!!!!!

Since you said you study law, pleeeeease help me. Cause I believe that they have some of my info, and may have opened up some credit cards or whatever.  I would love to put an end to this outragousness, and file a lawsuit against the payday loan companies that are releasing very important information about hard working citizens. First of all I did get a loan, and gave them my personal information about me, but when it came time to pay them one draft was only pulled.  So I contact the payday loan company and asked them what was going on, to my suprise I was told that my account was sent to a collection agency. So I tried to contact the agency and it was months and Sundays before I spoke with anyone. Secondly I started getting harrassing messages from some people that sound like they had there head underwater, and the connection was soooo bad that I started to get a feeling that these people weren't legit.  So the next thing I know they called my friends and family saying that I was going to be arrested, and other uncouth methods... Which by the way scared the hell out of my 67yr old mother, and so my next question is how to we stop this mess!!!

ive been getting these calls as well at work and on my personal cell..i have reported all this info to my local law inforcement the fbi the ftc and bbb...but they keep calling so i decided i might as well have some fun with these ppl..first they called me stating there name was john thomas..then john matthew, alan thomas nick stevens steve george and steve edwards..claiming to be from the law office of jonas m. grant..i did research on this..the address they gave me was 3500 w olive ave burbank ca. 91505..i pulled this address up and it belong to a local seafood restaurant...i then pulled up the law office of jonas m grant..and it does exist just on the other side of california!! i knew this was a scam but i spoke to jonas grant himself and explained the situation he told me i wasnt the first..i call them back everyday to to see how much i info i can get and the end up getting so mad they hang up and then turn their satellite phones off!!!  but bottom line this is such a riduculus scam and maybe by posting this i can ease the mind of someone else that may be just starting to recieve these calls..under no circumstances give these ppl ur info..they will have someinfo already but when they ask you to verify it just tell them you are not goin to verify anything...i just talk to them today and had to call back 4 times...i asked for the steve george i talked to yesterday and now steve edwards..haha...says he dont know a steve george and has never heard of me before..i then told him i was in cali at the address he gave me and he said come to the 12th floor..i told him it was a 1 florr restaurant and he said oh oh come to the 2nd floor the 1st floor was being rennovated, lol...yeah then went on and told me the 3rd floor the 10th floor and so on...i then ask why he couldnt make up his mind on what floor he worked on and his reply..." i am in the elevator this is why i change floors" LMAO really now? its just a bunch of scammers trying to scare people and they know that they cant do sh*t..which is why they will curse you and threaten you but bottom line is when you get right back in their face and dont coward down..they usually end up hanging up on you and then disconnecting their phones...hope this helps to any one just recieving one of these scam call.

I received a phone call from "Steve George" who claims he was with the law office fo "Jonathan Graham". He threatened that I was going to be arrested on Monday for a payday loan back in October 2008 that I never took out! I askd him to send me the information and he claims that he wasn't authorized to do so. He told me I would lose the case in court and have to serve 4-5 months in jail and pay $5K. he said that I needed to let my family and friends know that I was going to be arrested on Monday and that someone needed to bail me out of jail. Make sure they were prepared to do so and i will need $5k to get out of jail. He had my brother's name and threatened to put him in jail as well. I refused to verify my social security # with him and he told me that would make things worse. Too bad for him, he called me at work ( I work for a collection agency, a legitimate one) and all of my calls are recorded. I hope he calls again. Then he can cut me a check.

This person calls me approximately 8 times for the day on my work phone number. This man keep threathening in my voice mail about taking me to court. The last time I spoke with this individual around 3 weeks ago I told him I have a Bankruptcy Discharge, and if he keep calling my place of employment I am going to sue them. He still continue to call me. I can't even make out this person's name because he cannot speak proper English he has a foreign accent

I've received a call this morning also, 3rd day in the row.  About a loan I supposedly took out in October of 2008. (Which I never did~I didn't even have my current phone number in 2008) I told them I was at home this morning waiting for the officer to arrest me, he said someone will be there in an hour.  I told him I've been waiting for 3 days arrest me or stop calling already!  This last call I told them I was going to report this number to FTC and he hung up on me.  I wish someone would at least teach them how to speak english properly!

yes i just recieved another call from these people this mrng at 936 am.  It went straight to my voice mail, but they did not leave a message. I informned them i have never recieved any legal documentation about this supposedly loan  back in oct of 2008. they keep calling me and harrasing me saying the local sherrifs department is coming down now and i will be in court

I been getting harassed by these guys for some time now. Like all of you they won't give me any information, also the name of the loan company keeps changing. Today I spoke with one of them and he told me I was going to be arrested tomorrow if I didn't pay him the money.... I informed him that if this was true then it was a civil case, not criminal. His responce to me was " To go back to Africa".... The funny thing is, I'm not black and I don't even sound like I would be... Guess I upset him and that was the only thing he could come up with.... I really wish these people would stop calling cause they have even started calling my family members and threatening them as well. If anyone has any ideas please let me know....

I have been receiving phone calls from these people for close to a year now.  The names they use are hysterical, including Attorney Scott Peterson and office Justin Watson (where is Sherlock Holmes).  Please under no circumstances send these clowns any money.  They will call you every name in the book, and threaten you with jail time (debt collection is a civil matter for the most part).  Seems they are middle eastern, or possibly from Pakistan or India.

Having graduated from law school, I knew this was not a legitimate debt collection company.  What is very disturbing is that they have my name, social security number and address.  They also have names and numbers of relatives of mine and have called and harassed them on occassion.  They claim I own a payday loan, but I never took one out (I did inquire into one about two years ago and gave some information).  I contacted the company that I inquired taking the loan from and they of course denied that any information had been stolen.  That is the frustrating part of this situation, these scammers would not have any information but for the company's breakdown in security (or possible inside job).  One these guys even tried to get a car with my credit out in California.

We need to hold the scammers responsible, but also the loan company for allowing someone to hack or steal all of this information.  Law enforcement does not consider this top priority, but with enough complaints these people will be caught.  I encourage anyone who these scammers contact to report them to both the AG of your state and the state they called from (They are based on the West Coast - California, Washington, and Oregon).

In the meantime I enjoy screwing with them each time they call.  I figure if they are on the phone with me, then at least some other poor person is not being pursuaded to send them money.  We need to find these guys and deport them.

They called me last week and again this week and first told me they were calling from San Jose then Los Angeles.  Gsve me 5311 Stubaker Circle, San Jose, CA  99136 as an address

Yep same thing here... said it was about a payday loan in which I have never in my life got a payday loan.... they told me I was getting arrested tommorow and that I need to be in court at 11am but couldn't tell me where court was at.  RIDICULOUS!  I'm glad I know more people have received this call though.... now I know to ignore for sure!

I have received calls from this number, at home, and at work.  I told them to cease and desist and that if they had some business with me, to send it to me in writing, that I would not "deal" over the phone, an dreminded them that once I inform them to stop calling me, they are bound by federal law to stop......they don't!!!!!!   They pretend that they are officers, or attorneys, but cannot give badge numbers, license numbers, or any other information.   They have thick, middle eastern acccents, yet say their names are such:  John Smith, Charles Smith, etc.   They threaten, they swear, they tell you to go to hell, etc.  This harassment needs to stop, it needs to be punished!  These offices, wherever they are located, should be stormed and everyone there arrested, that would send a message!!!!!

yep.  They called me too.said they were some law firm, and the guy calling (thick middle eastern accent) said he was an attorney....first of all, he wouldn't answer his own phone if he were an attorney, and when I asked for his full name, state, and license number, he finally admitted that he couldn't give it to me.    If he were a real attorney, he wouldn't have called, he would have sent something in writing, and he would give the requested information.   Other blogs state that these people are untrained and simply say anything to make you pay them money.  They harass until you pay to shut them up.  I have turned over all numbers and info to the FBI, The Federal Trade Commission, my state attorney general and the office of Indian affairs, as some of these calls come from Indian reservations.   They can't do anything but will threaten to take people's children away, state that there are warrants out for your arrest, etc etc............if you DO owe money, this is a civil matter ,NOT a criminal one...they cannot arrest you)and they would take you to court............they is a reason they don't..because they are illegal.  hang up.don;t talk to them, don't give out information, just hang up.

These people need taken out of this earth.... I have a restraining order on them stating they are with a law firm based out of California and now New York. The names are ever changing, but same people keep calling my office. Today they called four times and a few months earlier they called my office 16 times in a row and cursed my President & Operations Manager both stating they were not who they said they were..etc...

I also started receiving calls on Friday from this number, but sadly they messed with the wrong person. I already knew this was a scam having received the same call back in April of the year from a diffrent phone number but it was the same people. This started on Friday I was left two messages on Friday first from a Justin Watson atty and then at 8:30 PM from a Aaron Williams atty. (please note it is illeagle for a debt collector to leave more than one message in a day which is why most call but don't leave messages untill later calls because they can keep calling you as long as they have not left a message) The weekend was quite but then Monday I get a call from Justin Watson and again on Tues from Justin Watson. I kept trying to call them back because I love messing with these people the more time they are on the phone with me the less time they have to call someone else. at first I couldn't get through it kept telling me all circuts are busy

I finally got ahold of someone last night. I swear at first he said his name was john then later in the call he was Charley. I asked him to quit calling my number I knew that they were scammers and I had reported them to the FBI and my local police. He tells me "You do what you want to do and I will do what I want to do" And I said "No quit calling my phone" He then goes on to tell me "you people are dispicable you take out payday loans and then do not pay them back this is why we must call you" Okay I never told this guy who I was so how did he know what my "case" was about? I informed this guy that in "America" you can not be arrested for non payment on a loan it is not a criminal matter and that perhaps they should learn our laws before they start trying to scam people. They guy goes on to tell me I will push to personally see your f-ing a** behing bars"  I said no lawyer would use the F word and to send the police over as I was home. Now "Charley" was frusterated telling me not to call back to this number again.

Bottom line DO NOT Give these morons any personal info and for god sakes do not give them Money. You can try to report to the FBI, FTC and local law enforcement but they use a spoof for there numbers so it's pretty impossible to find them and stop them more than likely they are out of the country. Just hang up on them, block their number or ignore the calls. YOU WILL NOT BE ARRESTED. Even if you did default on a payday loan you can not be arrested for that. I am posting a link about this phone number and if you google it it will bring up even more.

http://californiabusinesslaw.blogspot.com/201 ... number-760.html

My client in California received calls from these scam artists as well. For a good run down of how the scam is worked see:

http://www.bbb.org/cincinnati/business-review ... ti-oh-90002652/

Everyone out there... NEVER, EVER send these crooks a dime. Don't be scared or intimidated no matter what they say... they are liars, cheats and criminals! DO report them to the authorities.

"John Matthews" is a phony. cashnetusa.com is phony, or at least they are allowing their website to be phished for personal info. NEVER, EVER give out your social security number, or your birthdate, or any other personal information over the phone. No legit company would ask you to do so.

As a final humorous note, when I called to check on "John Matthews" I was connected to a man with a very thick East Indian accent. He said he was with the "legal department". I said, "Great! Let me talk to a lawyer." He said there were no lawyers. I asked to talk to a supervisor. On came a man with an even thicker accent who promptly told me his name was "Paul Williams". When I questioned why a man with such a very anglo name spoke with a very strong East Indian accent, he hung up.

DEAR SAINT,
Add the new phone number and name Eric Brown   646-470-0169.
I have told these people that I am recording the conversation and that I have seen their scam on Inside Edition (which is true).  I told them that I have reported them to FTC and State's Attorney and they will hand up before I finish, don't hear from them for 2 or 3 months then a new number.  Just tell them the same thing and they hand up and leave you alone for months.
don't understand why FTC or someone cannot put a stop to this.

I received a call from this number earlier today that I had taken out a payday loan in 2008 using the email address that they gave me which was a lie because in 2008 i did not have the email address that mentioned.  It is crazy because they had all my personal information.  What can be done about this?

Kudos to "Sam" for giving the most intelligent and informative posts of 2010 on this scam. READ, Bookmark and use as needed:

http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-631-456-4041/2

I have been receiving phone calls from this group since late April / early May of 2010.  There is a good chance that they also attempted to contact me roughly two years ago before I entered into Chapter 7 Bankruptcy protection, as I faintly remember hearing the same script more or less.

As others have stated, the callers are difficult to understand.  Generally speaking their command of the English language is quite poor and their accents are hard to follow. At times they will get certain words or phrases mixed up.  It would be funny if it wasn't for the fact that they had:

a) Your SSN
b) Your home address
c) Your work address
d) Your banking info
e) Names, numbers and potentially the addresses of "references"
f) A complete and total lack of ethics and a basic understanding of the FDCPA.  

I have personally filed reports with the following agencies, often with limited (if any) success:

Local Police
my state's Attorney General's office
FTC
FBI
Secret Service

Generally the local police won't be able to help much.  The callers are using a combination of prepaid cell phones and VoIP, making them difficult to trace.  Also at their disposal are various spoofing tactics being implemented to catch people off guard - meaning the number that appears on your Caller ID isn't the number that is calling you for starters.  Without gaining a subpoena for the billing information for the numbers in question, the local police won't be able to get very far.  

My state's Attorney General's office couldn't offer much assistance either.  I received a form letter in the mail that my complaint was received and I would be contacted if they needed additional info.  It was more or less the same information I obtained from the FTC.  They each advised me not to give the individuals over the phone any account information or to authorize payment.  That's just common sense, though.

I never got anything from the FBI, either.  There is a good chance that since I haven't suffered a monetary loss that my concerns are low on the totem pole.  I hate to say this, but that is truly the case. Unless you were in the hole for a $1,000 (or more) you aren't going to get much more than "sorry to hear about your situation, change your phone number and move on".  I seemed to get some activity from the Secret Service.  I spoke with agent Doug Zloto. (Google him, referencing threads like these plus his name and you'll find his number also)  He seemed to care a bit more than the average person, but after giving him access to my Google Voice account, there has been no further activity from him that I'm aware of.

In the meantime I changed the wireless number the fraudsters had access to, they have no direct way to get a hold of me.  (Calls at work have ceased for some reason)  That in turn resulted in my "references" getting phone calls from the crooks.  Here is a word of caution for women that have been getting these calls - don't say anything and just hang up.  The callers are quite abusive towards women callers.  Why?  Possibly the culture.  If they are Indian / Pakistani, women are second class citizens there.  You will be treated like garbage.  This happened to a family member when she was trying her best to be extremely nice over the phone.  

The callers currently attempt to reach me through the female family member and an unused Google Voice number that they managed to find of mine.  I keep the Google Voice number open because, well, I can't delete it yet.  So, about every day, 4-5 times a day for the last week, I get voice messages from them.  It's usually just two full messages though - the other calls are broken up with static or they are attempts to read the script until the callers then screw up.  Really, they are that adamant on getting the script 100% that they will hang up mid-sentence and call back 30 seconds later.  

At this point it's a stalemate with these people.  

1) While they have the lion's share of information on us, they can't really do anything with this information.  

Why?  Think about it.

If they were to ever take funds out of your account without authorization, it's fraud and worse (for them) it is traceable.  That's why they won't do anything with your information, contrary to threats they make.  The money from your account has to go somewhere, and either your bank or a law enforcement agency can determine where the money was routed.  As a bank customer you are protected - you'd get the stolen money back in your account after 7-10 business days and the bank would be temporarily out the funds deducted from your account while they conducted their investigation.  The bank, along with law enforcement, would track down the fraudsters and apprehend them.  The fraudsters do not want to incur the wrath of a bank, just extort money out of you.  Remember that.    

Your authorization would absolve the bank from any and all liability, leaving you holding the bag.  Never give them authorization for anything - for all you know the call is recorded.  

2) We have no information on them.

Seriously, this has been going on at least since 2008, possibly longer than that based on some accounts. (6 years??? Holy crap!)  You would think someone would have slipped up by now.  Sadly, they haven't.  We can continue to grow our own intel on them and compile lists of aliases and phone numbers used, along with paraphrases of scripts used in order to educate other victims.  I'm actually putting together a site now in the meantime where I'll host audio files and lists of previous numbers used.  800notes.com is great, but no two calls are exactly the same.  It would be nice to have a site dedicated to the scam and how it works.

So that's where I am with these calls.  I have suffered no monetary loss, though I have been harassed both at home and at work.  They threaten me with arrest and other "fun" things in order to get me convinced I have to pay them.  My friends and family have been targeted and local and federal law enforcement agencies haven't been able to put a stop to things.  So, it is what it is.  I am out a wireless phone number I had for roughly six years, which is terrible since I was using that line when looking for a new job.  

Whenever I'm bored I spoof my number using Google Voice and return the calls.  I've called them the poster children for birth control, etc.  Basically a lot of nasty things that I'm sure the moderators here wouldn't appreciate me repeating - bottom line nothing nice.  I always like to close saying their parents must be real proud knowing their sons weren't man enough to get real jobs.  That usually gets a decent response.  

Way I see it - they can't do anything to me. (Despite a threat yesterday that my life would be f'ed up)  They can threaten all they want but my credit is frozen and my bank information has changed.  I've changed the only number they could really access me directly on and I've instructed my employer and family to not answer the calls.  I just call and harass them now when I find a few extra seconds.  What's the worst they can do to me?  Charge me with harassment?  

Nope, then they would have to identify themselves.

Oh, and don't bother contacting Cashnet USA about the calls.  Their "fraud" department could honestly care less.  Their "investigation" is merely a means of buerocratic CYA.  I would even be surprised at this point if actual law enforcement is involved in any shape, way or form at this time.  

There is a good chance that the information these crooks have on us was obtained from Cashnet USA - either from a database leak or from a collector that was once authorized by Cashnet to call on delinquent customers.  The other chance is they have access to Teletrack, and pulled all of our information off of there.

http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-646-274-1143/3

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.

PS--The FBI sent out a Press Release on this scam just last week:

Extortion Scam Related to Delinquent Payday Loans

Washington, D.C.
December 07, 2010  FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691

? filed under: Press Release

The Internet Crime Complaint Center has received many complaints from victims of payday loan telephone collection scams. Callers claim the victim is delinquent in a payday loan and must repay the loan to avoid legal consequences. The callers purport to be representatives of the FBI, Federal Legislative Department, various law firms, or other legitimate-sounding agencies. They claim to be collecting debts for companies such as United Cash Advance, U.S. Cash Advance, U.S. Cash Net, and other Internet check-cashing services.

According to complaints received from the public, the callers have accurate data about victims, including Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, employer information, bank account numbers, and the names and telephone numbers of relatives and friends. How the fraudsters obtained the personal information varies, but in some cases victims have reported they completed online applications for other loans or credit cards before the calls started.

The fraudsters relentlessly call the victim?s home, cell phone, and place of employment. They refuse to provide any details about the alleged payday loans and become abusive when questioned. The callers have threatened victims with legal actions, arrests, and, in some cases, physical violence if they do not pay. In many cases, the callers harass victims? relatives, friends, and employers.

Some fraudsters have instructed victims to fax a statement agreeing to pay a certain amount, on a specific date, via a pre-paid Visa card. The statement further declares the victim will never dispute the debt.

If you receive these calls, do not follow the caller?s instructions. Rather, you should:

Notify your banking institutions.
Contact the three major credit bureaus and request an alert be put on your file.
Contact your local law enforcement agencies if you feel you are in immediate danger.
File a complaint at www.IC3.gov.
Tips to avoid becoming a victim of this scam:

Never give your Social Security number?or personal information of any kind?over the telephone or online unless you initiate the contact.
Be suspicious of any e-mail with urgent requests for personal financial information. The e-mail may include upsetting or exciting but false statements to get you to react immediately.
Avoid filling out forms in e-mail messages that request personal information.
Ensure that your browser is up-to-date and security patches have been applied.
Check your bank, credit, and debit card statements regularly to make sure that there are no unauthorized transactions. If anything looks suspicious, contact your bank and all card issuers.
When you contact companies, use numbers provided on the back of cards or statements

http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/paydayloanscam_120710

Ok so these people have called me for months. Around christmas last year I applied for several online payday loans, one was approved through Ameriloan and I finished the process. Never did I sign my name I placed an "x" where it asked me to place it. I did default but a few months later I started receiving calls from people with heavy accents stating they were with another loan company. I stated that I didn't owe these people money and they had no proof I did. They started with their script and I said that I needed my questions answered or I would hang up the phone. They refused to answer my questions, so I hung up. In return they called back 19 times that day and 10 the next. I answered again the second day and asked for a supervisor, he again refused to answer my questions so I hung up and have never answered again. I have been threatened with jail, police showing up to my place of employment,  told I had to be in court in California the next day when I live on the east coast. It is ridiculous and if they were nice and supplied any true evidence of debt I would repay them. But with no proof and being mean and snide they are getting nothing from me. You can catch more flies with honey than salt.

These folks call from a different number every few months!  They make threats of arrest, etc.  What a scam!!!!!!!!!!!!

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 have been receiving calls from this group since March.  I did report them to the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney Generals Office.  I asked them  for their address and they would not give it to me. They are reading off a script, yesterday the caller had someone in theback ground helping him.  Of course they end by saying if I don't return their call they wish me good luck as this unfolds in my life. I have returned their call and told them they are breaking the law, they hang up the phone. Of course then I get another call, with the same message.  I might just change my phone and cell no. if this keeps up.

I have been recieving these calls since March of this year..They stop for a couple of weeks and then start again..I have finally told our receptionist to just tell these idiots I no longer work in this office..They always say that there is a legal suit against me,they are going to stop my social security card and put a bad mark on my credit..They usually say they are from an attorneys' office in New York or California,none of the area codes usually match these states,they are man with very thick accents from India,very threatening.They have also called my elderly mother and threatened her if she didn't pay my debt.I have not debt with these people..I can't get them to stop calling work and my cell phone...I have turned this into the states attorney generals office as well as the FTC,.