I just went through the same thing with CASH USA... There was a man of foreign descent calling me from a number out of New York claiming to be a Lawyer(later making me aware that he was a "legal representative") and I was sooo scared of the threats he made to me of going to jail, and termination of my employment, that I actually sent them a total of $260.00! After reading some literature on the internet, I contacted a lawyer who e-mailed me that this company was a fraud, and not to pay them another cent! She told me that each case that they had taken on with this company produced a different address and they all were ups stores, or gas stations! STUPID ME! I WILL BE LOOKING INTO SUEING THE COMPANY!

They keep calling and never leave a message. When u call back they hang up!

The number that calls me appears as 052-497-347 on my called id but the constant voicemails left tell me to call 813 276 4792 and 813 347 9440 (different # each time). They call my job and family members harrassing anyone who answers. They claim to be a lawyer's firm and answer the phone with no greeting or company name introduction.

They are harrassing me and won't stop calling

Harrassing at work, being very rude to all Customer Services, using bad language

I get calls from the same place - No idea what loan they are refering to and would appreciate them to stop calling me. Especially at work. The ironic part is that I work at a Law Firm, so them calling me here is not helping out their case one bit, especially when I tell them that I never authorized them to use this number and that I do not know where they got it from. Everytime I do that they hang up on me. Next time they call me at work a I will just tell them that my lawyer wants to speak with and to hold while I get him. I can't wait to see their reaction to that one. SO ANNOYING, STOP THE CALLS!!!!!

These people are good. This man gave me this story that he knew I was a good person because he checked my credit records and saw that I had never seen anything wrong or of fraud on my record. He decided to give me a call to try to "work something out" before the company had decided to prosecute me. I thought it was extremely strange because I had paid this payday loan off 2 years before. I know if I truly owed money they wouldn't just randomly 2 years later try to prosecute me without notice. The "laywer" told me that I would be saving thousands of dollars of money from case costs and that this was my best choice. I decided to test it out and start crying saying I didn't have the money right now. He said let me see what I can do.

Each time I stalled this lawyer put me on "hold" but I could still hear all the background noise.
If a company really wanted to save money they wouldn't put themselves in the same position of spending "thousands of dollars on case costs" to get their 500 dollars. Told him that I paid this 2 years ago over the phone. The "laywer" told me it was probably a scam and I should be very careful to give my personal information over the phone.

This man heard me crying told me he would do everything he could to help me and emailed me this ridiculous looking form so I could sign and send back. Of course I just wanted some proof. IRONICALLY ENOUGH this is a scam.

I'll give it to him he's quite the actor- but I'm far better an actress.
Please be careful.

These people are scammers and apparently are on someones payroll to try to get us to pay money. DON'T FALL FOR THIS. They are calling from a call center somewhere in India

I am in the same situation - but do they actually have our personal information?
They called me yesterday and verified the last 4 digits of my ssn and back account, but had my all my back account information, routing number and account number. Then he proceeded to tell me about some pay day loan and I told him I didnt know what they were talking about and I needed to go to my bank and get my paper work and see if I was ever deposited money from a cash advance place. Went to the bank today and guess what... No deposit was ever made. So I just called them back and was told to meet them at the courthouse tomorrow morning with my paper work. As I went to ask him what courthouse - he hung up on me. So what do we do and how is our informaion being protected or is it.

This company is a scam company, they somehow pull peoples SSNs and home address from "Cash Advance USA" and claim you made a loan of $300, and with interest and fees it is now $999 or $1,500. They will send you a phony contract and tell you to sign it and then, the "prosecution" against you will not be filed. They are scam artist. If they call you comfront them aggressively with the following:

1) Cash Advance USA is NOT a payday loan company, it is a payday loan SEARCH ENGINE which finds a payday loan service for you. Ask them for the name of the payday loan service, and the orginal contract that you signed. The E-contract. They won't be able to find it, they don't have it.

2) Tell them you are a lawyer, Harvard grad, or have a family member who is a lawyer, and a family member who works for the FBI, and that you will trace the phone numbers, fax numbers, and email address I.P.

3) Ask them where the physical location of ACS is located. Tell them that you would be more than happy to make a payment in person; again they will stall. Any company that really wants their money will have an office you can come to. Say that you need to talk to someone in person and you will bring a lawyer and an officer with you.

They will make up fake names, but their heavy middle eastern accents give them away. Don't let them scare you by having your social, report them to the police, just DON'T sign the contract they fax or email to you!!!!! That will legally authorize them to charge your card. don't give them any additional phone numbers and block them if necessary.

My guess is that these guys work from a remote location possibly overseas use a bunch of different cell phone numbers to call people so their location can't be traced. Then they switch numbers and do it again. Report them and comfront them.

I got a phone call from this number 813-347-9440 and they were rude and harrssing and told me i was going to be in big trouble and when i called back they hung up on me and would not tell me anything. I finally got somebody and asked them to give me more informationa and they gave me another bogus number 561-948-3837 saying i took out a cashadvance for 300 and i never got a $300 advance. WHAT DO I DO? They are still calling me!

How can I get them to stop calling my work? talking to every and anyone who answers the phone.

i was looking for a case resolution with cash usa from where i got a loan long time back...
i disputed with them  regarding extra charges and refused to pay....
for some time i thought this was over but they filed a case against me ...

one day i got a call from Jerry Weathers and i searched it out on net for his detailes ...

I had a word with Mark Decastro who is a registered attorney with californian statebar...
he asked me to go ahead with the instrunctions given by telsa...

today i m thankful that he got my case resolved.

They called my cell phone and my job today. I got a voicemail from someone named "Jack Smith" (which was obviously not his name because of his accent) who stated that my "case" was being turned over to a prosecutor. I called back and he gave me my address and old email address. He stated that I had a company deposit funds into my account and then my check was declined. I had no idea what he was talking about. After further probing he stated that I received a internet payday loan and had never paid it. He claims that this was done March 2010. I told him I had no idea what he was talking about. I have used payday loans before but this transaction had never taken place. He became irate and said "Do you want to handle this or not." I told him to send me some information and in writing so that I could look over it. He then got snotty and said "You and your lawyer can look over this information when you are prosecuted." I was in shock! Prosecuted for what? For an alleged payday loan that you can't even give me information on?! He told me goodbye and hungup. I called back and spoke to another overseas rep who fed me the same information and asked if he could call me back because we had a bad connection. I asked if there was anyone in the states that I could speak with. He never answered that question. I don't know who this company is but now I fear that I will be sued for something that i have no knowledge of.

Recieved a call on my Cell voicemail yesterday PM from a Michael Smith( He had a thick accent possibly from India and could hardly be understood) said something about an affidavit with My Name which He stated and social affixed to it. Having no idea what He was talking about so I called him He then proceeded to tell me that I owed Payday Loans Money from an internet transaction and they had court affidavits and I was going to be taken to court. I informed him that I had never made any loans on line with anyone in an assertive Voice .... He then said "Oh you haven't" I said NO and He said something about checking papers and hung up ...... He Never called back .....

i received a call from a simon brown indicating i had 3 serious allegations against me and they were going to take me to court and sue me.  seems like another foreigner trying to get in the americans pockets.

i get the exact same number and phone calls! when they call me, they claim to be ACS and claim that i have committed fraud.  Not so.  These people are complete scam artists! yesterday they said "you're gonna be in deep trouble after I download your file to the courthouse".  i told them to go ahead, i'd already forwarded there info to the police department!

I just got a call from that same number at work but I wasn't in the office and when I called back all I got was a fax number, they claimed to be an officer kevin anderson......so I don't know what this is!!

PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Simon Brown" called me today and read all of my account information and my ssn to me. I am terrified that someone is going to ruin my credit and my identity I have no idea what to do. I called 1813-347-9440 and they kept hanging up on me and when I asked for their company name and where they were located the so called manager that I requested to speak with told me to "go to hell" and stop asking questions please tell me what I can do!! He called me and my Job, and it looks really bad on me I have no idea what they are talking about and now they are saying that an affidavit is being put againt my name and my social security number that I have to go to court to dispute $7000!

These people call my cell phone and job all the time...they have been very rude to my employers when they do call and I have repeatedly told them not to call my work. The man who has an accent is the same person always with a different name such as Ryan Peters or Tom, etc. He leaves msgs saying that I better call back and my social security number is at risk. They call and say it is from ACS and today they said they were from the department of crime prevention.

Called my sister in Adairsville,GA and said he was trying to reach me over a loan I had made and used her as an reference. Her number is 1-770-773-9334. He left his name with her as Max Thomas and his number 813-347-9440 and that I really needed to call him. She did not give my number to him.

Received a call from Simon Brown telling me I owe Cash Advance U.S.A. $300.00 for a loan I never received.  I told him that I never got any money from them and I am not paying them any money.  He told me to contact an Attorney and to find a good one and I advised him that was no problem.  They called 4 times in a row, and said I had to talk totheir Supervisor like that was supposed to scare me!

Left a nasty mesage at my work that legal action has been placed on me and I had 2 hours to call him back.

I got Carlos and Jack

Their opening move is to first harass the victim's relatives or employer before they start harassing the victim.  

Their goal is to create panic, so the victim can be conned into impulsively disclosing payment information before they realize it's just a con.

Let your friend know these criminal scammers are about to attempt to extort from him/her, that any alleged "debt" is fake, and that they can't carry out any of their threats.  In fact, they are safely calling from India, so they feel safe making the most outragous threats with no consequences.

Got a call today concerning a friend of mine. Have no idea who it was, but yes, very rude. Googled the number and found this sight. Passing it on to her now!

This number repeatedly calls me, as well as a number that appears to be from an overseas area.  Its only 8 digits.  052..... I answered once and the man yelled at me, and I hung up on him, he called me 16 times in one day! He called me another time when I was in the lunch room, and I get no reception, so I got the voice mail when I came upstairs.  He was very threatening and claimed to know where I work and live, which is apparently true since he called my mother and my job as well.  These people are VERY DEDICATED to this fraud!  I will be filing a report with the local police tomorrow morning, and am taking all of the complaints off of this site with me when I go.  Thank you all so much, and thank God I found this site!!

Mine was from Jack and Carlos, both men with the same voice, they have been harassing me at home, work and school.  Thank God I found this site! Thanks for the advice!

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

The name of there company is supposedly ACS and its an attorney's office. My attorney called them and found out there full of s*** do not believe this mess!! They will even try and give you a BAR number which is how you identify attorneys kind of like a s.s.n., IT ONLY SOUNDS BELIEVABLE WHICH IS ALL THEY WANT. Do not worry just ignore these calls!!!