Supposedly a law firm that had all of my information stating that I had used a payday loan and that I failed to pay.  COMPLETELY UNTRUE!  Scary how much information they had.  I did have a loan that I applied for online and apparently many of their online loan customers have been receiving the same calls.  Sounds like they shared information or their information was compromised.  Anyway called me at work, didn't speak clear English (had an Indian dialect) and supposedly had an assistant call me.  But when I called back (we have caller ID at work) he answered himself.  Big shot "lawyer" who has an assistant but then answers his own incoming calls??  Shouldn't it be the other way around??   He makes the outgoing and she answers the incoming??  Refuses to send me information to dispute the validity of the debt and then says he's going to have a police officer come to my job and my home and issue a Search Warrant!  A Search Warrant??  What a joke!!  What is he searching for?  Shouldn't he have said a Summons to appear in court?  ROFLMAO!!  Well closed the account so he won't be able to get anything!!  People should really consider working for what they want and not trying to rip others off!!

Oh yeah and forgot...I will be filing a complaint with the FCC, FTC, and BBB!!

Yes u can file a complaint against them, this is all scam.....
do get threatened by this calls..
This calls are made from Gujarat-Ahmedabad (India)

10/16/10 Message on my voice mail, could barely understand person Karen Williams (I think was name) 909-581-8384.  Would not say company or any pertinent information just that I better call back immediately or my attorney of record or else and good luck to my consequences. Tried to call back getting voice mail full/error.  Thanks to this site I will know how to respond if they call again.  All night because I do have debt but am working with my companies (as many people in my state) tried to figure out what the heck would I need attorney for I haven't done anything.   This is not right to do any people I have a husband with heart trouble and stress is not good for him.

I called back and I left a message on there voice mail and told them if they call me back I am filing harassment charges.  Hopefully they leave me alone!

10/16/10 Message on my voice mail, could barely understand person Karen Williams (I think was name) 909-581-8384.  Would not say company or any pertinent information just that I better call back immediately or my attorney of record or else and good luck to my consequences. Tried to call back getting voice mail full/error.  Thanks to this site I will know how to respond if they call again.  All night because I do have debt but am working with my companies (as many people in my state) tried to figure out what the heck would I need attorney for I haven't done anything.   This is not right to do to people I have a husband with heart trouble and stress is not good for him.

This person has called me twice at work and many times on my call phone.  Today Alex Matthews from Attorney Morgan & Associates (so they say) called me and left a voice mail stating the cops would be at my place of employment by Noon if the $ was not sent to them today ASAP.  They had my name, date of birth, place of employment, SS #, etc.  I guess they have had their home work.  Then I looked them upon the 909 area code scam list and saw the very number that they called from.  They are foreign descent - maybe Indian - and you can hardly understand them.  I have contacted local/county/state/federal authorities on this number.  I am really sick of this call and I have been suspended 5-6 times for these calls until I got wise to them being scams.  I am a work worker and have been here for years so I am still working - thank goodness for the same company.  WHAT CAN BE DONE TO GET THESE PEOPLE OFF OUR BACKS - SEND THEM BACK TO WHEREVER IT IS THEY COME FROM ---- FOR SURE!!!!

this is all scam and trying to threat the people of united states, all these calls comes from Gujarat (India)

Person called said Brian owed a payday loan and to fax his information and how much he owed and to go get some kind of card a Walmart to make the payment. This person said will double money owed  if not paid in 24hours and will have to go to court. The person said they were calling from a law firm . All of this is a scam, this phone# comes up as a personal phone and the person sounds as if they are from a foreign company.

I recieved a call also saying I was being sued for default on a loan...very irritating!! Does anyone know how to stop this?????

We should take these f****rs down.  Kick their sorry scamming a***s back to Dehli.  By the way verizon wireless owns their company

Yep, the number i was called from 909-581-8384 comes from Upland, California  
Morgan & Associates
Jeff Morgan
Very very thick "indian" accent
I know they will be calling me on monday looking for that fax they wanted me to send.  I will be reporting them to the authorities.  These ppl need to be stopped!!!

Called me 2x on friday telling me that i have an outstanding payday loan for like 300 some dollars & that this company has 3 lawsuits against me & that i need to have my lawyer call them...the first message they left, i couldnt understand the "indian" accent at all...2nd message, i finally got the phone number, called them back & they were very rude, they had all my information, told me that if i wanted to resolve this, i had to send them a faxed letter stating that i wanted to resolve this issue, with my credit card number on it & a photo id & my social security number.  So after i hung up, i looked them up, saw that this was a scam.  I also thought how odd, that they would want all that info, but couldnt send me any info when i questioned it.  They also, said they could have me lose my job & will come after me for $2,000.00 for not paying this loan.  They would get me for check fraud & other stuff.  If u raise your voice at them, they start to get rude with you & nasty.  They really really need to be stopped!!!  This is ridiculous!!!

This company called and told me they were lawyers and there is a suit against me fo 5 thousand dollars for a cash advance.I told them that i did not have a cash advance and the one i did have is paid for.They told me to speak up that i was being recorded.I then told them that i did research on the internet and that they are a scam and to F@#k off.They told me do what i want and they will do what they want.Do not give any information to them/

These people call several times a day, their messages are getting more and more threatening . . . It is actually getting kinda funny. My husband called them back and demamded they send some kind of documation that we owe a payday loan. I applied for one but did not get it. So I know I don't have one! . . . they called him a b*****d and hung up . .  we knew at that point it was a scam.
These guys are idiots!

This is a scam...I repeatedly called them back and finally the "supervisor" went nuts telling me that 9/11 was nothing compared to what "30/11" will be...I told him there's no 30th month, but apparently in India there is according to "Alex Matthews"....so have some fun with these clowns and rest assured these guys are con artists looking to steal your money. Oh and they hate Jesus, they told me.

yeah they call me too....keep saying they will remove my number yet never do.  I haven;t paid them a dime and call blocked them....though now find it humorous when they call....since they're asian sounding I usually ask for some sweet and sour chicken,,,,tends to piss them off...

Yep:

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

Received a call about an affidavit for my arrest unless I pay.  Does anyone else have this?  I will pay if I actually owe something, but is this a scam?

said I owe thousands of dollars to a company and an affidavit is coming for my arrest....