cannot understand caller but pick up a few words and there threatening me....serious threats...such as if I don't call back or answer phone then I'm going to need some luck. Also that my ss number is under investigation. Calling my work, my family....????????????
Review the dense threads here on fake payday loan collectors. You'll find a lot of company.
Their threats are empty and their rude tactics are illegal under federal law, the FDCPA. Do not argue with them, do not comply with their demands. Show them you know you have rights they are trampling.
Try demanding a mailing address and a full business name. If the caller fudges his answer and you cannot verify it, it's likely a PDL sham. Challenge their horse puckey threats; they often make rude remarks and hang up. As the bullies like to hassle people at workplaces, advise your employers and coworkers these calls are garbage.
The usual response to such a runaway debt collector stateside is to send a cease-comm letter and file suit. If you find a valid US address, please do so. Fierce consumer lawyers will leap at the chance to run such a case on contingency. However, being mostly outside U.S. borders and having no discernable addresses, these particular criminals rarely make it possible for individuals to punish them.
Follow this link for a payday loan scam primer ...
http://www.debtorboards.com/index.php/topic,6954.html?#msg104309
800Notes itself is thick with complaints on this issue.
http://800notes.com/forum/ta-1b47a30428c1e14/ ... ew-numbers-here
When you're done studying, make some noise ...
- Submit complaints to the FTC and state attorneys general.
- Send word to the FBI via the Internet Crime Complaint Center:
http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
- The Secret Service might also like to hear from you, per its mandate to investigate all sorts of financial and electronic fraud:
http://www.secretservice.gov/investigations.shtml
Learn how to exercise your rights as an alleged debtor from the FTC.
The more you know of illegal practices, the faster you will sniff out the fraudsters.
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.shtm