I have been called from the # _______ repeatedly for a 3 day in a row stretch, then they stop for a few weeks, then start again. They have thick indian accents and other afro american thick accents. I finally answered and they have left several threatening messages on my phone # that I did not pay a bill and now the NY State Attorney General was going to hand me legal papers and I there was a lega lean on my Social Security # and I was to be arrested at home if I did not pay. i was to call the above Number back immediately 347.625. 3715. I did not beleive them asn asked them for an address, they gave me 101 E. Green Street in Brooklyn, NY 11327. I told them to send me something in writing, they had and recited me and my address (I did not give it to them) It is from Cash Advance USA. I looked up all these number sand it is a scam, I am worried becasue these people have a lot of imformation and I am a single mom. So I am not sure what to do.
i got a loan from online a couple of monts ago and it's been a nightmare since! i have paid my debt and then i received this phone call from the office of this SOB at work claiming it was an emergency. Anyways a guy with an indian accent told me he is from NCA and is calling to collect a debt. He told me talk to the attorney sebastian taylor who was very interested in obtaining my credit/debit card number so i can take care of this matter before filing a lawsuit against me. i told him i did not have any money in my account at this time and that i have to make a deposit first. he kept on telling me, they will not take out the money until i received the paperwork from their office,via fax, sign it, andre-faxed to them. since he was calling me at work, and was using all these words regarding paying the debt now or else they will charge for more fees, etc. i told him, i cannot talk because i was busy. he even asked me what time i go to lunch so i can provide him with the information. when i didn't call, he called again, and that's when i got really suspicious because he kept on asking for my debit card number. i told him there is no use for him because there was no money in it. he again asked me when can i deposit money and i told him after work, around 5pm. he said to call him when i have the money. when i got home, of course i looked for the paperwork i had that proved i already paid my debt. meanwhile, i started googling his name and VOILA! He is a scammer! i tried to call the number he gave me and he said to specifically ask for him, (347) 625-3715. it was always busy, and i dialled it at least 10X! at 5:11pm my cp rang and it was from "unknown". of course, that much familiar indian accent voice was on the line. i said hello and asked if it was sebastian. he said he was, and as he started asking about the payment, i told him how i have proof that i already paid the debt he is trying to collect. i also told him i already know a lot about him, that he is an extortionist and to leave me alone! that i already reported him to all the agencies...etc. he hung up right away but if he calls again, i will provide him with the name of the agencies where he is most wanted! he was trying to collect $866 from a $300 debt...
sebastian, you are a disgrace to your own people!!! get a real JOB!!! Not trying to scare people of their hard earned money to give you money. i wonder how much did your company scammed from all the people you called today? i also contacted my attorney who said if i ever received this kind of calls, to direct this people to his office. i bet he can find a lawsuit that will put this crooks out of commission for awhile...
I received a v-mail from this number a Adam Smith claiming he was from the legal department of (could not understand - I believe ACS or something on 8/27/10 regarding some legal obligations against me. I notified my bank and pulled my TRW to make sure there is nothing new listed. I did not calll him back as the call sounded suspicious and I have not received anything in the mail.
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:
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:
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.
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.
I would appreciate the agencies he is looked for so I can report it myself having just got off the phone with the same description of a man but calling himself steven on my answering machine and james once i called back. I thought he was just a rude employee, but could not for the life of me identify the loan unpaid he was talking about. I further looked up the company and found this wonderful site explaining that 347 625 3715 was a scam thank you so much for that, I now need help in understanding what else I can do to prevent any further dismay from them.