this number keeps calling me and saying i own a payday loan please money, which i know i have never borrowed no money and verified it with my bank as well.
This phone harassment stated Friday, August 6, 2010 when a man called said he was representing “Easy PayDay loan” and that legal actions have been filed against me for not paying back a loan and I would be arrested since I was now in default of this loan. I told him take out a loan from a loan company but not the one he named which was paid in full on July 31st he said he needed proof that it was paid. I told the proof came out my bank account if he didn’t have it that was his problem which I then hung up from the call and called the company who I taken a loan out and the lady said it was a scam and not to worry about it.
Later the same day one of my references called very upset saying that a man named Tony Blair and a Mark Williams called stating that I was in default of a loan and that they needed my bank pin numbers because legal action was being brought against me for she also gave a phone number for me to call them back on this number 360-215-2913. They also told her she needed to be in California on Friday, August 11, 2010 with her lawyers! The called her again on Monday, August 10th stating now she would be arrested for not telling them where I was!
I have received several phone call from the number I adding to the pest list.
When I checked my phone they had left a very threatening message on my voice mail the man said his name was Tony Blair (he had a thick middle Eastern Accent) and that charges now were terrorists threats against the state and that if I didn’t care of my debt I would face jail time and mockingly he said I hope your family is well. In his message he said my first and last name and the last four digits of my social security number. I called the loan company I was dealing with and gentlemen with Middle Eastern Accent the phone so I hung up from them and started corresponding with that company via email. They assure me that their system is safe and that no one could get that information. I emailed them today and let them know regardless how short I will be this month they will be paid off! What is irritating is all the numbers I have searched online and the comments that people have made these people have been doing this for at least four years and the FTC, FCC and the FBI can’t do anything about it.
The number that shows up on my caller ID is 1-781-382-1923
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.
Mark Williams(very obviously not a Mark) claimed that I owe money to them and I don't. Refused to give law firm name and a verification of debt and demanded to speak to my lawyer. When I told him no that I would not be paying him $1500 USD today he threatened me and family with physical violence. He also said "may God have mercy on your soul because you will be rotting in jail at the end of this." At that point I hung up. I researched the phone number and found numerous complaints. He then called my place of employment again and when I stated that I knew that this was a scam and would be reporting this to the FTC he used vulgar language with me and called me henious names. I ended the call. As of right now, I am angry, fearful and most of all shocked!
I received a call from a so called company American Legal Services claiming that I owed money from a payday loan from CashNetUSA. In their message that they left me they stated my name and my ss# and said that if I didn't call back within 24 hours that they will be assured to file with my local court and I would get 6 months in jail for non-payment. I did call them back to get a little more information so I could report them. First of all when I called it sounded like they were in a bar, Second it was a man with a VERY heavy accent that claimed his name was Kevin Anderson. He stated that American Legal Services had already filed with the court and the claim would be transferred to WA state and that I would have to appear in court. He said they had proof of 17 different felonies. When asked why I had not received any paper work via mail or e-mail, he said they were not allowed to give that to me and that I would receive copies after our court appearance. I also asked him the exact date of the so called payday loan and all he said was 2009. Not that I have ever been sued before and correct me if I'm wrong but you always receive documents before your court appearance. I told him that I would be contacting an attorney tomorrow and his response was that he needed a call back and payment within the hour. I knew this was a scam but like I said, I called to get more information so I could report the scam. Do not fall into the trap of these people. I have never known anyone to go to jail for a debt!! Do not pay them a dime!!!
I was recently contacted by a man with a very heavy Indian accent saying that I owed money because of some payday loan I received. This man had all my information as well as family and friends. He said they were taking me to" Federal court" and filing charges against me for fraud. When I told him I have never in my life gotten a payday loan, he said " I have the proof right here that you have and it is in fact you!" He instructed me to have my lawyer call them to make a payment. He also asked me if I wanted to make a payment or dispute the claim. I said i wanted to dispute the claim and he said that he still needed my lawyer to call. He was very hostile with me and when he was finished he simply hung up. I called back to ask to speak with his supervisor and he said he was the person assigned to my case. I told him again that I have never had a payday loan and I didn't appreciate the phone call or the attitude. If this were real, I would have gotten some sort official letter in the mail stating this claim or even in person. The number he called me from was 360.215.2913. I couldn't understand what the man was saying because of his accent. If these people are hostile to you, be the same way right back. Not only am I scared that these people have my information but shocked by the way they treated me over the phone. Also, when i called back the number, it sounded like this man was in his car! Don't fall for this crap. My suggestion, and this is from my bank, close your account and reopen a new one so that your bank account cannot be drained.