Calls from area code and number 779-400-0010 show that is from the Illinois area code. The 779-400-0010 is associated with Erick Johnson and (if that is his real name) has committed company identity theft against a Federal Credit Union and is a scammer.
Consumers targeted by the scam typically are looking for a payday or short term loan and search the Internet for assistance. They voluntarily place their personal information on these independent sites (not recommended) and then receive an email from one of the aliases above from e-mail addresses located at
[email protected] ,
[email protected] or some other variation indicating that the potential victim has been approved for a short term loan that is affiliated with companies that the scammer has no association with whatsoever. They include a non- authorized logo and wording in the e-mail, but no direct hyperlink to the company’s legitimate sites. Consumers who respond by telephone to the offer are then told that in order to receive the loan, they have to pay for either an upfront fee, taxes owed, processing fee, etc., in the form of a MoneyPak or Pre-paid credit card including Vanilla Network cards. We advise against paying any upfront fees. We strongly suggest that you contact local law enforcement to assist in stopping these fraudsters.