Received call from this number: 914-371-6826.  Answered and there was a noise in background but no one responded.

This number calls me once a day. I ignore the number and never answer. Very annoying!!! They have yet to leave a voicemail. I will be blocking this number.

Received a call  from this company, but of course I didn't even bother picking up. I don't answer calls if I'm unfamiliar with the number. Anyways, I was able to do  some digging and investigating  of my own. Seems that the number they're calling from is a landline phone and when they set up the phone account, they used a room at the Crowne Plaza White Plains as their address. If that doesn't scream "scam" then I don't know wtf does. These people are full of s***, and not for nothing, but I'm not the one to try and G like that.. don't trust these people, and dont bother answering your phones!!

Calls everyday ............and asks by name..........and then asks the jackpot question...."'Are you his wife???'"
totally unacceptable and they won't leave a message

Calling to verify addresses and not giving any info.  Advised that someone calling me will not get any info if they do not give out any.

Received a call from Brandon who wanted to verify personal information regarding a legal matter. Said he was from First Choice Assets. Refused to give reason he called except to say it was for verification.

These business is going in india in many states. They are collecting funds from the U.S. people and force them to make a payment. They do hve a script as below...
This is ============ and i have you listed as the primary suspect on a case file which is going to be downloaded in your county court for further legal actions. The nature of my call is to ascertain your attorney's information so tht i can be able to fax the affidavits to your attorney before file ing the case against you...
They give three false allegations . They do hve to information of the people of US with SSN, ADDRESS, BANK name and ACC, PHN NO, WORK NO, AND REFERENCE NUMBER. I kindly request you all to stop paying the payments cause u hve no loans pending and they are earning in rupees... India is great and one of the best country but there are some people who are doing this to earn a lots of money and the US payday loan sites should stop giving "LEADS" (they are giving personal informations of the people in india who are applying for the loan in united states so in india it is easy to earn money sitting and dialing and collecting money from U.S. people) to india.

Yep same here it has been going on for weeks and his name is Charles Watson....will not stop calling....this is the same people just a different number now...they were calling about a month ago from a california number now it is a 914 area code....thick indian accent...I have filed complaints with the FBI, secret service, local police.  This needs to stop I am sick and tired of getting these calls.  I have had payday loans in the past but have paid them off or they are in the process of getting paid off.  No one will call you to warn you that you are getting arrested or being sued.  You just get served and thats it.

i to am getting these type of calls. Only difference is they state a friend took out the loan and never paid back so therefore i am liable. And that I will be arrested and have a court date for fraud because I helped her get it so it is my problem. They also are Asian or some type of foreign. So everyone out there becareful.

Same with me told me they got negative info on me they were going to tell  my employer.  Said I owed money to USA Cash Advance I told them to go where the sun dont shine.  Then they called one of my references and they told she was responsible for this bogus loan!!! She told them she was going to sue them for harrrasment. I called them back and told them the same thing in different words.  They are frauds and the FBI and State attorney general should be made aware of this.

The caller was Tom Jackson, they all sound Asian to me. Sometimes they forget what name they tell you, so sometimes he's Tom and sometimes his name is Allen Taylor. They told me to stay where I am so his "cops" could come get me. What person in their right mind would sit and wait for the cops to come get them?

The Same Thing Happened To Me, On 06/ 22 / 2010 (  Tuesday ) I'd   Recieved 20 Calls In One Day From   A  Danny  Dawn   Mr  Or  Mrs.  Of A  Spanish  Accent.  She  Said   I Owed  On A  PayDay Loan, And If It Wasn't Paid  By  2:00 P.M. I  Would  Go To Jail,  They  Already  Are Sending  The Police. And They  Would  Take  Me  To  Court.   She , Read  AII  My  Personal  Information  Back  To Me.  Even,  My  SS#  And  The Names  Of  My  2  Friend's. She Called Me From :  646- 810-8638.   Number.(  New  York ). Then Another  Number : 914- 930-3200.   (New  York. ) Mrs. Dawn ,Danny Said My Loan Was From : Cash Advance , USA.For  :  $  614.00 , I Was Given Instruction's  To Go To A Walmart, Purchase a Debit  Card, Put $ 700.00 On The Card , Then Wire It To Her. To Pay My Debt. And Keep $ 1.00 For Myself.And My Account Would Be Closed.   She Faxed Over Some Fake Document's To Me.   The Company Was  : ACS,INC  Legal Department.  I Contacted: Cash Advance,USA. ( 888-316-4238 )  Ext : 5574. )  Their Is No Loan Application In My Name. And That These People Were  :  Scammer's.  Using Cash Advance,USA To Do Fraud Activity.

Got a message and a phone call from a friend who told me that a indian sounding guy called him and told him if he couldnt get a hold of me for a payday loan that he and i would be arrested, CRAZY, i do have a payday loan out but for only a week and am paying it on schedule as usual, no reason for this. will never renew a loan and will cancel my membership with casnetusa and ameriloan. if these are loan companys you deal with state it then it will narrow the companys down. WILL NOTIFY EVRYONE POSSIBLE OF THESE FRAUDULANT CALLS!!!

I keep getting the same calls. They told me I took out a payday advance from a company I have never used and with a bank account I've never had. Can someone please tell me where I can report them because they have my social!!!! This is ridiculous and these scammer need to go down!!!! How do they get our information???

I applied online for a payday loan but decided not to proceed in this matter, but quess who was the faithful that always call from 914 371 6826.   This time it is Adam Smith instead of Daniel Watson.  I will be glad when the FBI find these people.

They idiots are claiming I owe them 7K due to unpaid payday loan.  They have called my employer and my coworkers and have told them untrue info.  I have received 15 abusive calls yesterday and 3 today.  I reported this activity to the TX attorney general, the federal trade commission, Dept of Homeland Security, SSA, and anyone else who would listen.

FRAUD.  Group of people out of Pakistan.  Report it ASAP to all agencies and authorities.

Now his name is Daniel Peterson and he says he is with some consolidation company and about to file an afadavit against me. Strange that his phone number showed up as 000-000-0000 yet he left me the above number as a callback one.

someone called me saying i owe a payday loan company 6,000 dollars and that i am being under federal investigation. they said they are from an acf debt consolidation company. they sounded like in indian voice i could not understand them well

I too received a call from this number, asking me to verify personal information that would have been on a loan application. The caller said his name was Danny and that he worked for a law firm that was going to take me to court for fraud because I didn't pay a payday loan. He would not give me the name of the law firm but he threatened to call references and have them come to court. He said I would end up paying $7000 instead of the $612 I could pay now. This "Danny" had an asian accent and talked very quickly. I was able to interupt him a couple of times and ask for the name of the debtor. He would only tell me it was one of the companies under AdvanceCashUSA). He even claimed his supervisor would not allow him to tell me the name of the company I supposedly had done business with. I finally agreed to him sending me a form to sign and fax back. Of course, I will not be signing the form but I wanted to get off the phone.

Recieved call wanting me to comfirm information regarding myself, like social security number, address, friends of the family.  The individual has a thick indian accent,  do not confirm no information on the phone.  His name is Daniel Watson- 914 371 6826-  this is a scam.

Leaves messages about a pay day loan I never took out. Says they are going to have me arrested and calls my friend too. They are from India. I have found many sites referencing this phone number as a scam. They got my info online and try to use it against me. I closed my checking account, put a fraud alert on my credit report, contacted the FBI, FTC, Attorney general, and police as well as posted about it on several sites. Do not believe them and do not deny or confirm any info they have, tell them to MAIL you the proof that you owe something with the dates and names of company you got he "money" from. They should have your address too right...if they don't do not offer it to them.. They will only tell you you can pay them through western union or other type of untraceable place.

this guy just called me up too. says his name is Shaw Watson. must be the charles watson you are mentioning. indian accent. says that i owe some money to a payday loan service. i keep asking for details as to when the nonpayment occurred but would not give information. they have my bank acct number and social. i have alerted my bank and have put in a monitoring. i too have had payday loans in the past but have paid them off or is in the process of getting paid off. very rude and threatening. this has got to stop!

Yep same here it has been going on for weeks and his name is Charles Watson....will not stop calling....this is the same people just a different number now...they were calling about a month ago from a california number now it is a 914 area code....thick indian accent...I have filed complaints with the FBI, secret service, local police.  This needs to stop I am sick and tired of getting these calls.  I have had payday loans in the past but have paid them off or they are in the process of getting paid off.  No one will call you to warn you that you are getting arrested or being sued.  You just get served and thats it.

Constantly calling me very verbally abusive  threatend to take me to court and arrest me  calls me everyday showing no proof of a bill i owe.

I received a telephone call from Danny  Dawn  914-371-6826 stating that she was calling from ACS  Legal Dept  because a payday loan company  is making   a claim against me. I responded to the call  just to be  told that a payday loan company is claining that  i received a payday loan and  ran off with their money.  I  stated that is not so  where am i  running to furthermore, there is a bankruptcy pending she stated  that i do not need a bankruptcy lawyer  that  i am going to need  a  criminal attorney. The company is claiming that  i  comitted fraud and quoted the amount of money that i will have to pay  for  lawyer's  fee , court  cost and  bail money. She was very abusive, rude, and  condensing.   I went ahead and set up a payment arrangement  for the amount of $612.00.  At that point she mentioned  docementation  that would be sent  via  e-mail that needs to be  signed  and  faxed to her attn  on 6-11.  I informed her that my printer  does not work she insisted that i go to the library print and scan  the  correspondence..  *** On  6-11 rec'd voicemail mesage because the docoment  was not faxed. I  informed her that  i went to the library and was unable to access my e-mails  (never did) additionally, if a payment arrangement was established then why is this document needed.    It is needed  to forward to the court   along with my file so that no action will be taken againt me. This makes no sense because there is a payment arrangement in place. I  inquired about the name of the company again and was told that it is  Advance Cash USA. She provided me  with the # as requested 323-410-2877 Shane Watson. Spoke with this  unintelligent individual  it was very obvious that he contacted  Danny   before speaking with me.  He also insisted that the documentation is returned via fax. I  mentioned to him about the other company ATS  512-229-0184  Edward   Walker who  has been calling me about the same loan. He basically brushed me off  and  told me that Danny is the supervisor for all  locations and i should call her  back.  I forgot to  mention earlier that it appears as if  Shane also works for ACS because when he placed me on hold  the same exact music was  playing. Danny's instruction again was to sign and fax the form do not speak with anyone else even if it is Mr  Bush or  Obama.  I will be filing harassment charges against  Edward.  I still do not have a telephone  number for Advance  Cash USA., cannot understand why  there is a problem with speaking to my attorney regardng this matter. However, i will be performing research.

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 too a victim of this abuse but i have send money into thinking this was true only to find out i never took a loan out as to what they claim that i did.now im recieving amount of threating calls at work and they go so far as to saying they will bomb my job if i dont call them back..how can i stop this from ruining my life?

I have received many phone calls from not only Dennis Peterson but Alex Cooper. Dennis Peterson has called my job so many times I have had my supervisor talk to him and he got nasty with her.

Holy crap!  Today my husband got a call from his receptionist to give this number a call and said it was very important to call them.  When I called this # to speak to the person that called I got a recording that the number was disconnected.  Very interesting to find out that they are scam artist.  The more I read the more I realize that yes I filled out an application but didn't take out any loans because of the interest rate.