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Extortion Scam Related to Delinquent Payday Loans Washington, D.C. December 07, 2010  FBI National Press Office (202) 324-3691— filed under: Press Release The Internet Crime Complaint Center has received many complaints from victims of payday loan telephone collection scams. Callers claim the victim is delinquent in a payday loan and must repay the loan to avoid legal consequences. The callers purport to be representatives of the FBI, Federal Legislative Department, various law firms, or other legitimate-sounding agencies. They claim to be collecting debts for companies such as United Cash Advance, U.S. Cash Advance, U.S. Cash Net, and other Internet check-cashing services.According to complaints received from the public, the callers have accurate data about victims, including Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, employer information, bank account numbers, and the names and telephone numbers of relatives and friends. How the fraudsters obtained the personal information varies, but in some cases victims have reported they completed online applications for other loans or credit cards before the calls s****ed. The fraudsters relentlessly call the victim’s home, cell phone, and place of employment. They refuse to provide any details about the alleged payday loans and become abusive when questioned. The callers have threatened victims with legal actions, arrests, and, in some cases, physical violence if they do not pay. In many cases, the callers harass victims’ relatives, friends, and employers. Some fraudsters have instructed victims to fax a statement agreeing to pay a certain amount, on a specific date, via a pre-paid Visa card. The statement further declares the victim will never dispute the debt. If you receive these calls, do not follow the caller’s instructions. Rather, you should:Notify your banking ins***utions. Contact the three major credit bureaus and request an alert be put on your file. Contact your local law enforcement agencies if you feel you are in immediate danger. File a complaint at www.IC3.gov. Tips to avoid becoming a victim of this scam:Never give your Social Security number—or personal information of any kind—over the telephone or online unless you initiate the contact. Be su****ious of any e-mail with urgent requests for personal financial information. The e-mail may include upsetting or exciting but false statements to get you to react immediately. Avoid filling out forms in e-mail messages that request personal information. Ensure that your browser is up-to-date and security patches have been applied. Check your bank, credit, and debit card statements regularly to make sure that there are no unauthorized transactions. If anything looks su****ious, contact your bank and all card issuers. When you contact companies, use numbers provided on the back of cards or statements http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/paydayloanscam_120710For 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 DivisionMidline MarketingCrime Monitoring ServicesMonetary Crime DivisionU.S. National Bank Attorney General’s Office (usually in California)American Legal ServicesAffidavit 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****ociatesMorgan &****ociatesMorgan****ociates954-727-8481 1155 Northwest 85th Street Wintergarden, Florida  33150 (Address is likely invalid)The collector's MO matches a once legit collections agency called Ellis Crosby &****ociates.  Here are some links on them:http://www.budhibbs.com/collectorpages/ellis_crosby_and_associates.htmhttp://www.budhibbs.com/collectorpages/EllisCrosbyJudgment.pdfThey 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 &****ociates / Douglas & Morgan****ociates4494 Southside Boulevard Suite #200Jacksonville Florida 32216Phone:  800-928-3536 / (904) 928-3536(Address is likely invalid)There are NUMEROUS consumer alerts out a***nst this group of individuals:Florida:http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/061107/met_176207561.shtmlKansas:  http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/01/ks_debt_collection.htmlColorado:  http://www.coloradoattorneygeneral.gov/press/ ... lls_likely_origRhode Island:  http://www.collectionscreditrisk.com/news/rho ... -3002135-1.htmlWest ******ia:http://www.w***o.gov/internetloanscam.cfmMissouri:On July 15th, 2010 a Public Awareness Bulletin was sent out by Missouri Information ****ysis Center.  "..received reports from individuals in Ohio and Illinois reference su****ious 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 fic***ious 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 ****ysis 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 **** 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 ***nch'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, do***ent the date and time of the calls you received.  Save voice mails left if at all possible.  * C****e your number(s).  For some this may not be an option, for others a one-time number c****e 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 s**** up their script.  At any point after they have your information pulled up just **** up.  They will then s**** religiously calling your Google Voice number.  At this point, you are free to c****e your regular phone number(s) and enjoy not having these people ever call you a***n.  (And laugh at the fact these people are basically talking to a brick wall several times a day)The scammers c****e 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.1-201-244-77221-209-349-73821-209-797-22121-212-500-08391-213-256-04081-213-995-30391-281-763-04331-347-289-39021-347-844-68171-347-844-68311-424-354-42701-516-232-89051-516-232-89351-518-212-02191-561-300-80181-561-210-41851-626-200-46461-631-456-40411-646-274-11431-646-810-86351-650-241-46041-707-401-40561-707-633-27891-708-401-05351-716-442-28241-***-862-40801-718-705-86691-760-514-01321-760-563-53841-772-318-49381-850-201-11111-858-777-19771-859-908-22811-866-860-45091-877-226-74881-888-706-74631-888-771-92491-888-785-44791-909-327-4870So can they really do anything to you?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 a***nst the fic***ious 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 so****ing 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 ***** 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 ins***ution.  In about 7-10 business days, you would get the funds returned to your account.  Then the scammers would be up a***nst 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.http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-646-274-1143/3

Dept David is calling from this number and harrassing me.  tries to tell me I am someone else.  He is rude obnicous and threatening and going to send out agents to drag me to court.

I got a call from a Dept Davis at this number and he threatens to get me fired and take me to court and everything else.  He call me and my wife at all hours and is rude and threatens both of us.  He will not give me his busiess number just tells me he is from a government covered agenceny and not to worry about it.  He is very Rude and does not speak good english.