I got a call from a 505-695-7294 asking me to call 855-251-0542. They said that I owed money on a loan for think cash/first bank of delaware from 2010. I do remember the loan. I had two from them and paid them both off. They sent me a very generic letter telling me how much I owed. It was kind of on letterhead. It has Mid-Atlantic Consumer Services at the top but no logo or anything. I checked the address 4088 Milestrip Road, Suite 256, Bladsell, NY 14219 that is on the letter and google earth shows a bunch of boarded up buildings so I'm pretty sure this is a scam. I haven't called them back yet.
I got 3 calls from this # today. Same thing - thick, foreign accent using an american name. I checked with my niece because she is an attorney for the state we live in. She said this is a scam & is already being investigated by the PA Attorney General's office. She told me the next time he called to tell him I know it is a scam & not to call back. They did call back this afternoon & I told him that I had spoken with her & that I was filing a complaint with the attorney general's office & he hung up on me. He hasnt called back & I hope he doesnt, but I am still filing the complaint. She said the more complaints to your state's attorney general's office, the better the chances of catching them. She also said to notify your banks so they can put a watch on your accounts. Hope this helps.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from you. The more ludicrous a debt collection call seems - the more likely that it may be fraud or a scam.
A few of our clients have received calls from companies, such as The Department of Crime Prevention, U.S. National Bank, Affidavit Collection Services (ACS), Federal Investigation Bureau and United Legal Processing, who claim to be collecting payment on behalf of their lenders. Many of these fraudulent companies acquire personal information through the internet and use fear based tactics and false threats to force people to pay them. It is important to know that you cannot be arrested or taken to jail for not paying your payday loans.
Some of the clues to know that these calls are not legit are as follows:
The call comes from untraceable phone numbers (000 for example)
Refuse to provide pertinent information about their company.
Refuse to provide a statement confirming your loan or information about the loan.
The Loan is probably one you don't ever remember getting.
The representatives speak with very foreign accents.
The representatives speak very broken English and sound like they are reading a script.
They threaten "Legal" prosecution and "Arrest"... also make similar threats to family and friends.
They typically end the call with a "Good luck" or "I wish you well"
They will call obsessively and well beyond the point of harassment at your home or your work.
Nothing that they say is true. They will claim that you will go to jail, that they will come to arrest you at your work or your home, and other such viscious nonsense if you do not pay them money by a certain time. If what they say seems really outrageous and exceptionally scary - chances are they are the scam company. A lot of times you'll hear the foreign accent with a very "normal" name like John Smith or Michael Jordan and there will be many voices in the background like they are calling from a call center.
Under no circumstances should you provide these companies with your payment information.
If you are suspicious about a call you receive do not hesitate to request the companies information and a statement confirming your loan. All companies running a legitimate operation will not hesitate to provide you with their information and a statement confirming your loan.
You may be asking what we can do to stop these calls. Unfortunately, the answer is basically nothing. We have called these numbers many times for our clients and it has not stopped the calls. They are just trying to steal money from you and they will not stop until they get you to give in.
The best advice that I can give you regarding that is you talk to the person on the phone and just tell them that you know they are a fraud company, they will not get any money from you, that you are recording this conversation and will use anything that they say against them so they might as well stop calling you. This has been going on for months and the callers are calling from India - there is nothing that the FBI can even do to stop it. What I've discovered from talking to clients who interact with these people is that, if they know they are getting to you, they'll continue to call you. Most clients who speak calmly to them and just tell them that they won't be giving them any money have had the calls decrease or stop completely.
Below are some articles related to these scams. This is especially helpful to share with your supervisors at work if these calls begin to happen on the job.
I receive a call from someone that I can't really understand his name due to a very thick accent and threatens me with being arrested and such and does end his call by saying "I wish you luck." I could not figure out what he was trying to say except about my lawyer calling in my behalf. Thank goodness I found this thread of information on this person/company. Also, a man named Jemes Harrris, phone number 865-293-4363, called me and told me that he was with the The Department of Crime Prevention and i had a warrent pending for an outstanding loan that he stated was "Natoinal Assistant Funds" and I can't find it any where on any websites using Google and Yahoo. He threatend me stateing that if I did not pay they were comeing with pretty silver bracelets at my work. Does anyone know this company and the man? I did give my info for payments because he really sounded legal and stated that the police would be at my work, even gave me a case number. I am and was really scared. Please help me find out about this one.