Bogus caller....Not a law office at all.....do not give out information

Got a call from 219-227-3000 said that it was important that either I or my lawyer call them back...yet they gave me a 901 number!

Called from unknown number, but "Andy Watson" left me a message that there is some very pressing legal information that he has for my lawyer and if I don't call him back  at 901-620-0276, then he can only wish me luck. He has called on my work number and my home number and has private information about me. Very un-nerving, but definatly a scam!!!  Don't talk to them, hang up, it doesn't help to argue with them. The only thing that has ever worked is that I work for the Dept. of Corrections (which I do) and I've told them that I am also recording their call. The worst part is they can barely speak english!! Jerks!

Just rec'd call on work phone (where I answer but hold a key down which emits an annoying tone) until they hang up, then on my cell the number comes thru as 0000 or +052652815 which I believe is international or skype.  Anyway, they are heavy accented and very threatening.  I am saving all the voicemails they leave on my cell for ammunition.  This has been going on several years now and nothing has been done to stop them, even after reporting to several agencies.

Just received a message from a Ricky Street who left the number 901/620-0276 on my cell phone, saying that they have something important to discuss with me.  Not to disregard the call, and that if he doesn't get a call back from me or my attorney, he can only wish me good luck.  I've received this type of call before.  Yes, he does have an Indian accent.  I wouldn't waste my time arguing with them.  The one time I did, they just kept calling me back.  After calling the Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs, best advice is to just not answer the call.  It appeared on my caller ID as "0000.""

Got a call stated this is time sensitive, if you do not call back, I wish you the best of luck.  I called back and they said I owed money. I asked them to contact my attorney, I asked them to mail me the bill, they never did.  I know it is a scam, but watch out they are very coniving.  They're English is horrible as well.

Calling my desk/office phone repeatedly stating they are from American Legal Services. Have the last 4 digits of my social security number... as if that is going to make me believe them. Just hang up the phone.. no legal agency is going to call you from an Indian Cell phone number!!!

http://www.nbc-2.com/Global/story.asp?S=14157951FORT MYERS: They're harassing, intimidating and they even threaten the safety of your children. Lee County Sheriff Office says a phone scam is picking up speed in Southwest Florida and it could cost you a lot of money even if you answer a few simple questions.

NBC2 Investigator Andy Pierrotti found out what you should do if you get a call like this.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office says scammers got his personal information by stealing it from online loan and credit card applications.

likely hijacked number - from overseas, where?

how come the phone company cannot trace?

I received a voicemail at my work number from a Ricky Sweet and to call him back at this number 901-620-0276.  He says I or my retained attorney needs to call him back.  He had a foreign accent and I dont return calls of whom I dont know.  Who are they?  I am glad I found this site.

I received threatening phone calls saying to call 901-620-0276 or else they were not responsible for what happened to my family. They never said my name or their company name in the messages. Alll callers sounded like they were from India. I called our local FBI branch, but still ended up changing my phone number after about 8 evil messages were left on my voicemail. The FBI said "don't return the calls."  If you call then back they may steal your phone number and make international calls with it....or something like that. The FBI called the number and was told it was a debt collector.

Left a message on my work voicemail, for some odd name, never heard before. They were very threatening and I let them know they were reaching a fire department and not to call back. After I hung up, they called back and hung up on me.
I hope there is something someone can do to stop these calls to everyone. Wasting peoples time and being rude and threatining is totally unnecessary in todays economy. Maybe I should call back stating that I am that persons attorney.... Then what!

called on Monday (11-29), called 2 times on cell phone, listed as 'unknown number', then called on my work phone 2 times; left message saying this was a 'legal' notice from a 'Sam Walters' (very heavy accent-india?middle eastern?). Message was that i needed to immediately call call back to 901-620-0276 or have my attorney of record call back to the number. He never identified the company name or group represented, made threatening statements, and stated that if he did not receive a call back that all he could do is 'wish me good luck as to what was going to unfold on me and my family'.

called on thanksgiving day & day after saying i need to call back 901-620-0276 came up on cell 0000 saying that my family and myself need to beware if i do not call back can hardly understand what they say what can we do about these calls

I get calls from these people at least 3-5 times a week. All with different numbers to call back. They threaten me w/ everything. One guy actually said he was going to send me paperwork, which I of course, never got. They used to leave 800 numbers to call back but has recently changed to the 901 area code. The calls didn't start for me until after I took out a payday loan.
btw, payday loans are the DEVIL!!! They have cause more trouble than they are worth and if you don't pay it back right away, it is a constant struggle with the 30% finance charge they charge you everytime you have a payment due.
I called the business I have a payday loan with and they are calling it the "Indian Scam". everytime I get a call i believe is this scam, I call my payday loan company and give them all the info the scam people have given me.

THREATENING PHONE CALL FROM A THICK ACCENT

I got a call from this same person! OMG he was threatening my house and cars. What an A$$...

I received harrassing calls from this number as well. I have found that, once a person applies for assistance of any kind on the internet, these type of scammers get your info and then proceed to harrass people to get money.  These are scammers.
Same phone number: 901-620-0276-shows on my cell as 0000.
Do not give into these people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Unfortunately, they move around so they don't get caught!  No one will come to a person's job to arrest them for a debt they owe.  If you owe a bill, you will receive a letter and then after so many tries, it will be a negative on your credit report and that is it. I verified all of the info I am passing along to you, via the attorney general in my state.
Don't believe these people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Report to the Internet Crime Complaint Center http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx , the Federal Communications Commission http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm , the Federal Trade Commission https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/ and your state AG.

i am also getting calls from a thickly accented person claiming to be Rickki Jackson at 901-620-0276 claiming I am going to lose my job and they will make sure I "pay". What a joke - where can you report these people?

I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT THE MESSAGE SHE LEFT ON MY PHONE WAS VERY INTIMIDATING, SHE STARTED OUT WITH LEAVING A THREATENING MESSAGE TO SAY IT WAS LEGAL AND THEN SAID GOOD LUCK WITH WHAT IS ABOUT TO UNFOLD FOR YOU. THAT WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS.

I received a call from 901 6200276, the lady said her name was Brenda Taylor and she left a threatening message on my phone, I returned the call and asked for a manager when the male party that answered the phone shouted back at me "who the hell are you", i then calmly asked for the manager, he placed me on hold and then a man named Charles Green came on the phone, when asked for name of company, he stated American Legal Services, when asked about their operating hours, he said repeated several times what, what,i then hung up. I plan to have something done about this. According to the FDCPA, a collector cannot leave any threatening mesages on your phone.

This brinda called me and said she would have my job if i didnt pay
and they keep calling my work place. dont pay its a scam

I have received a call from this number. They have called me twice. They actually called from a 0000 number. They told me in the first message that I needed to call a Becky Green. I called the number back and because I wouldn't give them my phone number they said they couldn't help me and they hung up on me. In the voice mail they said that if I didn't call them they would have the police at my door the next day. So I called my local police department. They came and I made a report about it. The call was very unprofessional there was rap music in the background and alot of laughing. Than today they called back. The person's name was Jim Smith. They told me that it was very important that I called them to keep from having legal action taken.

They called wanting money... don't pay its a scam.

I have received quite a few of these calls at work recently. The first time they went so far as to tell me when I said not to call me at work any longer, "don't worry you won't have that job much longer".  The most recent call is that my car was involved in a car accident and now I am getting calls from "Brenda Taylor".  How can we get these to stop?

When I asked the gentleman to provide me information about the car accident he tried to say the car wreck was on my street of residence.   They are scammers.  I will alert my bank today and my employer today.

I received a threatening phone call from this number at work from a Rep name Calvin Ross of American Legal Service. He threatened to serve me with papers the next day and appear in court the same day if I didn't settle right there regarding a payday loan. He wouldn't give me specific information on the loan when I started questioning him about it. He said I could avoid going to jail for several months and pay $5000 to $6000 in court costs if I settled the case with him and his company right there and then. He has me so stressed out to where I can't function. They have absolutely no conscience than cause hardship on people who work hard to earn a living.

he is scam.so dont pay the money.

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 recieved a call at work from a heavy accent middle eastern female individual named BRENDA. same voicemail that they have left me.. I was scammed before and now the calls are back again. only difference is they change their no. PLS DO NOT FALL FOR THIS FOR THIS IS A SCAMMED!!!!
claiming that they are collection agency collecting a debt, or calling for a attorney office, law firm.
when asked what is the name of the company she can not provide.. I have reported this to our law enforcement agency in our area and was told that this is a SCAM... you will notice and if you recieved a call with same messages over and over again with different people. maybe they are just using 1 script. Scammers uses a SCARY TACTICS and states they are calling from this retain your attorney of records.