858-926-5290
CA, US
N****
N****
2011-06-18 13:20:51
Debt Collector
Got the same call about the same s***. So I told the f****ng Indian n****r to suck my c***, and he said "if you pay back da roan, you can get your c*** suck anytime." I laughed over the f****ng phone and told him to prep his a** up, cause I'm gonna stick something in there, but it won't be my c***, and it will turn into a cesspool of blood. And then I told the police, but they couldn't track the number, so they said to not worry about it because they know its a scam. I laugh in the face of these f****ng english deficient f****!
Frustrated in IL
Frustrated in IL
2011-06-06 21:00:52
Unknown
I recevied a voicemail from the same person, Kevin Thompson who claimed he was with a firm called American Legal Services.  He informed me that the "very second" I receive this message that I or my "retained attorney of record" need to return the phone call.  He went on to tell me that my social security number (and he knew the last 4) is under state investigation for "misappropriation of funds".  Fortunately for me, I know these types of claims are scams to obtain money from innocent people.  Furthermore, they don't even bother doing their research before making up lies.  Misappropration of funds is defined as:
"the intentional, illegal use of the property or funds of another person for one's own use or other unauthorized purpose, particularly by a public official, a trustee of a trust, an executor or administrator of a dead person's estate or by any person with a responsibility to care for and protect another's assets (a fiduciary duty)"  
Now, let's start with everything that is WRONG with this fake accusation.... I am not in political office, nor do I have a trust, nor am I involved is anyone's estate, NOR do I have any fiduciary responsibility for anyone else's assets.  
You would think they would do their research and at least use the legal terms correctly before trying to steal money from people.
Buff61263
Buff61263
2011-06-06 21:00:52
Unknown
I've received several calls and messages from these same people, low life foreigners working out of some sweatshop in India.  The names change every time they leave the message.  Same drivvel as the above postings - Hugh Matthews is an attorney from American Legal Services and that me or my retained attorney or legal representative need to call them back due to a pressing legal matter, or something along those lines.  They're obviously reading from a cue card or script because there is always hesitation in the message.   I do not owe anyone any money, and am not about to return these calls or even take the calls from these scum sucking bush pigs.  They're scammers who are trying to bully hard working people into paying money they don't owe.   DO NOT respond to these people in any way, shape or form.  They'll soon be caught or move on, or change their number.  IGNORE these ignorant scumbags and they'll move on to someone else.
Slim
Slim
2011-06-06 21:00:52
Unknown
Crazy the guy that called me name was John Miller. This is crazy these people have called my job since last week and left harassing messages. They better put me on the phone or I will lose my job, can I remind you that how can I lose my job if their not the people who hired me . He said a few ugly words to my director and she hung up in his face he called again and she told him to stop calling. I received a call with a message from the guy sound like it was a computerized voice.I know it's not of any importance because when I sign up for stuff on the internet I give my Google number if I don't want my actual number to be given out and that's where the message was sent to my Google voice. They won't be getting any money from me. Glad i was able to find this.
kathy
kathy
2011-06-06 21:00:52
Unknown
Some guy name Kevin Thompson called me and said thay he had  a class action law suit against me for a cssh advance I never paid. I told him he had the wrong person. He has my ss# said if I did not pay he was going to turn it over to the court and it would cost me thousands of dollars. he was explaining why I  owed the money i asked a question he would get mad and tell me not to interupt. He called me at work and when I told him I was at work and I had to get off the phone he just started yelling at me.Then when I told HIM i still did not know what he was talking about he called me a dumb a##. I said excuse me what was that he just said we could settle this out of court if I would just pay 475.00 to him today it would be settled and I would not have to go to court. I told him I would have to call him back. he gave me his number. When I hung up I searched his number and found out it was a scam.
Lisa
Lisa
2011-06-06 21:00:52
Unknown
They are constantly calling my job telling me the same thing that I have a law suit against me for a cash advance. They have even went as far as to curse my employee when they told them that I was not there. Theya re going to far and I have reported this matter to the police. A Kevin Thompson and John Miller are teh ones that are calling me also.
CeCe
CeCe
2011-06-06 21:00:52
Unknown
So my mom, who lives with me, gets a call from a Mike Fuller saying she owed for a payday loan and how they're gonna file with internet fraud and all this crap. My mom has short term memory loss and is disabled. She tried to tell the guy she didn't remember and what it was for. He gets mad and tells her not to interrupt. She then tells him to mail her the information regarding this. He continues to yak about it and not give much information. After a few mins, I get on the phone, and I hear him saying something about how she "decided not to pay", like she's a child, so i proceed to tell him what i think and how he don't talk to my mom like that. After a few choice words, i hang up on him. Of course, he calls back. I tell him again, not so nicely, that he won't call my house and talk to my mom like a child. She's older and he should respect his elders. I ask if he could comprehend my basic english and he says No. I tell him to go back to school and learn english before trying to work here. I hang up, and he calls again. Privacy mgr picked it up and the comment was "Answer the phone you f'in b****." Yea i was pissed. so i answer and say what i gotta say, tell him he calls again i will personally file harrassment on him and hang up. I tried to call back to get supervisor but of course get same guy. He won't give me supervisor, nor the name of company. I call back on another phone and get the company name. Decided to do google search for phone number and here I am. I'm just waiting to see if they call back. However i did call them back a few times to mess with them, and i did call them back to tell them i know they're scammers and that i did report them. we'll see what happens...
Clay
Clay
2011-06-06 21:00:52
Unknown
I recieved a call on January 11, 2011 @ 8 frigging 30 am stating that I have charges filed against me and also told me not to interupt him. His name was Kevin Thompson my cell said the call was coming from Cali. I applied for payday loans online because I recieved an email saying I am approved for cash for the holiday. Applied but never recieved a loan. I learned my lesson and every one needs to watch out for this.. Even though it's a scam I still feel worried because they know my name, birth date ,social, home address and where I work. I just signed up for identity theft protection with wells Fargo. It's $10 a month but it will protect us. I feel like slapping the h*** out of these f****** but we don't know really who they are and where they are. But they are the real Theves and someones gonna catch thier a** one day. These foreigners are out for our money no telling what's next. Good luck every one!
2011-06-06 21:00:52
Unknown
Same stuff happening to me. I am going to call him back until he changes his number.
marian7
marian7
2011-06-06 21:00:52
Unknown
received a call from a Kevin thompson who claimed to be a debt collector for America Cash Advance claiming that I owed for a cash advance that I got but never paid back. Threaten to take me to court and inform my employer. I told him I had paid all my cash advances, but he insisted that I owed. so I gave them info to take funds from my debit card and to send an authorization letter the next day by fax to a Mark Brown. When I got home, I looked through my records and I did not owe that co and had not gotten a cash advance from them. I called the next day and told them that I was not sending any more money(the $250 was for only part of what I owed) and informed them that I looked on the internet and found out that they this was a scam that they were running and that it was out on the internet and that I had contacted my lawyer and plan to contact the police also. I also saw on the internet that they have operated in Florida using a different number.
Christina
Christina
2010-12-23 15:44:02
Debt Collector
Received a call from John Miller stating I have been issued legal documents that can only be discussed over the phone. HAHA right. He did have my last 4 of my social which worries me, what else does he have? I have read all the notes in this section and even though this call has only happened once, as of today, I am going to take the steps needed to prevent any further damage to my financial peace of mind. Thanks to everyone here for the advice and Im glad I didnt get fooled!
Slim
Slim
2010-12-20 23:05:10
Unknown
Same guy has been calling and harassing me at my job, left the same message on my voice mail wished me good luck . Called and his legal attorney answered stating John Miller wasn't in and I told him stop calling my job and that I would be contacting the police he hung up in my face. I hope they get caught.
The Saint
The Saint
2010-12-20 14:01:01
Unknown
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
mld
mld
2010-12-20 13:56:25
Debt Collector
just got this call again this morning about an hour ago from a "mike anderson" from american legal services and that i would be in trouble if i did not return his call, and that there is a fraud case against me. fat chance! he even recited my whole ssn so i am contacting the three credit bureaus now and the ag office. this has got to stop! voice is definately indian.
mld
mld
2010-12-17 21:46:44
Unknown
ok, just got this call from a "mike anderson" - golly i am tired of these mid eastern scammers callling me- i don't call them back- and the same spiel, that it is extremely time sensitive and the very second you recieve this message to call them back- fat chance! just wanted to post this so others won't fall for these guys
richdodger
richdodger
2010-12-16 04:34:10
Unknown
hey how are you doing i also got this phone call from a "James Marshall" claiming that i had to call the second i got the message what do i do should i go to my local police and advise them of the phone call
The Saint
The Saint
2010-12-14 15:05:59
Unknown
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

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
Willie C
Willie C
2010-12-13 17:57:28
Unknown
good afternoon on 12/10/10 and months prior I rec'd call from theses foreigners that can't speak a bit of English with names such as Chris Matthews and Michael Anderson did their parents forget to teach them the English language or bring them here at a later age in life,lol but for real they had my name,address,dob, ss# and  email address and said someone I know my child had used me as a reference,but they told her the opposite about some type of Payday Loan or Cash Advance,well because I know this isn't so I told them to send me a bill, They called my job demanding payment on something unfounded by myself. I laughed at him he tried getting very serious by threatening me as well, when I tried calling from my cell call wouldn't work,be careful with this don't let them intimidate  you, they are a little smart but and eventually they will get caught
ron morrow
ron morrow
2010-12-13 17:24:59
Unknown
These low lifes called my wife on her cell phone left a threating message, then they just called her work..I called and talked to a "kevin thompson" I've never heard of a indian with a name like that..would not tell me the company name , then I told to quit calling my wife with threats and then he started calling me every cuss word in the book ..and he is susposed to be an attorney .. I think not...I'm going to call our A. G . right now .....My wife did apply for a loan on the internet and somehow they got her info. We had the same scam from new york last month asked for the info to be faxed or mailed and no response ..it's just frustrating people are allowed to do this underhanded practices...watch what u put on the internet................
Ticked Off
Ticked Off
2010-12-10 17:18:33
Unknown
Everything sounds the same minus the name of the person which obviously changes.  There are many websites with people complaining about this same thing. Definitely reading from a script, all of the above languauge was used when talking to me and leaving a voice mail. SCAM!! They wanted my cell number after I asked them to stop calling my office. I told them to serve me or send me a letter and they said they can't. I've worked in the legal field for many years. It was definitely a red flag when a company who supposedly sued me cannot send me a letter or serve me with the pleadings. DON'T give them any information or confirm as said above. Hang up, save voice mails and report them.
al
al
2010-12-10 14:23:12
Debt Collector
Same here been getting calls last couple of days jhon miller with american legal services. google the web site at the bottom it says there is an off-shore scam!
Telll Me
Telll Me
2010-12-09 19:35:19
Unknown
I just recieved the same phone call . A threat to have either me or an Attourney call the number back because of something that they could not tell me and that if I did not call back a "John Miller wishes me good luck " Cause I will get what is coming to me. I called the number back twice the first time it answered with some random name that I couldnt understand and the second time it went to a voicemail.. I am not happy . And they called me at my work!!! Not ok!!!!!!!
Kenneth
Kenneth
2010-12-08 22:30:07
Unknown
I also received a call from this person, whom could hardly speak English and was obviously reading a queue  card.  Whatever you do, DO NOT give them any information nor should you confirm any information they have on you, even if it is correct.  The most important thing you should do is report the call to your state?s Attorney General?s office ASAP!  I have filed a compliant with my state?s AG and they have also advised that you save each and every voice mail they leave on your phone. I started getting these calls about a year ago and every time they call it is from a different cell number and a different company name;  all which are non-existing companies. I guarantee you, within a month, the number they called you from will no longer be a working number.  PLEASE, PLEASE be sure to report these people to your states AG office!  Even if you do owe someone money, this is an illegal practice and everyone has to work together to stop them.  DO NOT SEND THEM ANY MONEY!  Ask them to mail you the statement or bill?I am still waiting on the bill I supposedly owe?over a year later!
Rohndutt
Rohndutt
2010-12-08 21:19:42
Unknown
Only 15 minutes ago I received this same threat.  I was told a warrant for my arrest would be issued in 1 hour.  I attempted to explain that he, the caller (who also claimed to be a lawyer) did not have the authority to issue any kind of warrant, he replied "Well you just wait and see what I will do."

They know nothing of our laws because they are not us.  These callers are little more than Southeast Asian guttersnipes, slaving away in telemarketing sweatshops.
RODNEY
RODNEY
2010-12-02 22:22:13
Unknown
CALLS MY JOB WHEN I ASK THEM NOT TO
marian
marian
2010-12-02 07:46:18
Unknown
call about payday loan not paid and to fax information to mark brown for payment
1-216-342-1009 1-855-759-8138 1-866-753-6957
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