614-594-0472

I keep getting calls from this phone number and now when I called back a man by the name of Gerald McCormick answered and said they were with the National Banking Association and when I asked what company it was he wanted to know who called me and I told him I needed the name of the company, I know who called but I need a company name, he refused to give it to me and hung up. THIS IS A RED FLAG AS A SCAM. They left a voice message I needed to call immediately otherwise I will be arrested.

This man called me from American credit Service and his name is Dow Bishop And said that if I didn't pay the amount of 925.00 that they were going to take me jail & that a police was going to be in my house early in the morning to take me to jail and that i will be losing my job, or that i was going to be sued for 14,000 dollars so I  and the person back but he did provide me a case number but how do I know it a good case # I called him back and then the answer machine answer and gives me this ext 2553978 and can not accept messages because the mail is full can some one give me an answer if this true.

I got a call stating I received a csh advance of 375. I checked with my bank and they stated I did not nor have I ever had an account number of the one they gave me. They told me I would be arrested on my job, locked up and it would be my worse night mare ever! LOL!! I told them to come get me becasue Ive paid all my debts and if they cant prove it I'm not paying it

I encountered them today and called them on it and I was cursed when I let them know it was a scam

got a call from a heavy accented man who says he is mr hamilton. he said i owed 17,000 from cash advance. i will be arrested for bank fraud if i don.t pay him. i told him i did.nt know what he as talking about and hung up. this is not the first time he has called. about six months ago same call same voice. i said this must be a scam and he hung up on me

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:

http://www.budhibbs.com/collectorpages/ellis_crosby_and_associates.htm
http://www.budhibbs.com/collectorpages/EllisCrosbyJudgment.pdf

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:

Florida:
http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/061107/met_176207561.shtml

Kansas:  
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/01/ks_debt_collection.html

Colorado:  
http://www.coloradoattorneygeneral.gov/press/ ... lls_likely_orig

Rhode Island:  
http://www.collectionscreditrisk.com/news/rho ... -3002135-1.html

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.

1-201-244-7722
1-209-349-7382
1-209-797-2212
1-212-500-0839
1-213-256-0408
1-213-995-3039
1-281-763-0433
1-347-289-3902
1-347-844-6817
1-347-844-6831
1-424-354-4270
1-516-232-8905
1-516-232-8935
1-518-212-0219
1-561-300-8018
1-561-210-4185
1-626-200-4646
1-631-456-4041
1-646-274-1143
1-646-810-8635
1-650-241-4604
1-707-401-4056
1-707-633-2789
1-708-401-0535
1-716-442-2824
1-717-862-4080
1-718-705-8669
1-760-514-0132
1-760-563-5384
1-772-318-4938
1-850-201-1111
1-858-777-1977
1-859-908-2281
1-866-860-4509
1-877-226-7488
1-888-706-7463
1-888-771-9249
1-888-785-4479
1-909-327-4870

So 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 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.

https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-646-274-1143/3

Consumer Alert: Attorney General warns Kansans of debt collection scam

sep 16, 2010 -- Attorney General Steve Six is cautioning Kansas consumers about telephone calls from apparent fake debt collectors who are impersonating law enforcement officers in an effort to extort money from consumers.   Consumers are warned to not submit payments to these fraudulent debt collectors.

When calling, the scammers most often state they are attempting to collect a debt related to an internet payday loan obtained by the consumer, but which the consumer never repaid.  Consumers state they have never obtained such a loan or paid off the loan years ago.  The scam artists have most recently identified themselves as ACS, National Affidavit Processing Department and United Financial Crime Division, but may use additional phony names.  It appears the phone numbers used by the scammers are “spoofed” numbers, so that the number appearing on a consumer’s caller ID is not the actual number of where the call originated. It appears the calls in question may be originating from outside the United States.

When questioned, the individual calling refuses to disclose the full name or address of the collection agency they claim to represent.  These scammers have been able to provide consumers with identifying information, such as the consumer’s social security number, home address, e-mail address, names of family members and the consumer’s computer IP address.  Since the callers are able to provide valid personal information, consumers may become confused and believe they are being contacted in regard to a legitimate debt.

If the initial debt collection scam is unsuccessful, consumers have been re-contacted months later with the scammers posing as law enforcement officers or officers of the court.  Typically, the consumer is threatened with arrest for fraud or some other fictitious crime unless the consumer agrees to immediately wire money via Western Union.  The fictitious officers strive to frighten and confuse consumers into compliance by using legal sounding terms such as “We’re filing an affidavit against you” or by stating a lawsuit has been or is in the process of being filed against the consumer.

A hallmark of each scam has been calling consumers repeatedly at their place of employment.  This scam hit home when an employee of the Kansas Attorney General’s Office was repeatedly called both on her cell phone and at work.  Despite the employee’s repeated verbal disputes, the caller refused to provide any identifying information to allow her to send a written dispute. The scammer also continued to call her numerous times a day regarding a payday loan she denied obtaining. Two months later, she was again contacted by telephone by an individual identifying himself as an “officer”.

“I denied owing the debt and refused to pay without being provided validation of the debt. I was then told, ‘If that’s the case, I will have local law enforcement come to your place of business and drag you out kicking and screaming’,” stated the employee.

“It is important for consumers to know their rights under the law,” Attorney General Six said. “If a consumer is receiving calls from a debt collection company and believe it is a scam, I encourage them to contact our office immediately.”

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), collectors are required to send consumers a written notice within five days of the initial contact.  The notification should contain  information such as the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed and a statement informing the consumer they have thirty days to contact the debtor in writing to dispute the debt or request validation of the debt. In addition, legitimate debt collectors are prohibited by the FDCPA from making false or misleading representations, such as the consumer has committed a crime, implying nonpayment will result in the consumer’s arrest, or using the threat of violence.

More information is available on the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf.

To register a complaint with the Kansas Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, call 1(800) 432-2310 or visit www.ksag.org.

http://www.ksag.org/page/consumer-alert-attor ... collection-scam

I recieved the same calls! I am glad that I was not the only one targeted and decieded to do some reserch. My particular caller said that his name was John Warner ("oops I mean Jason Warner") and that I would be arrested, my job would be notified, and that a law suit was being filed against me. Well for starters his slip up on his name was clear indicator that this was a scam. Not only that when I called back they said, "Hello?" What business answers the phone like this. Like many of the above stories, this guy had a heavy accent and a threatening voice. I am going to report this number to the police and I am on my way to get a new number. It is ashame how people operated in today's society.

I just got a phone call from this same number. One of my family members has been having issues with these people for a couple of months now. When I told him I was a probation officer and now this is a scam, and that I have reported them to the FBI and my local sheriff's department, he cursed at me. I then hung up. Someone called back from a different number 2 times after that but I didn't answer. beleive me, THIS IS A SCAM and please don't send them any money! They are a telemarketing comapany based out of California and I have really reported them.

I just got a phone call from this same number. One of my family members has been having issues with these people for a couple of months now. When I told him I was a probation officer and now this is a scam, and that I have reported them to the FBI and my local sheriff's department, he cursed at me. I then hung up. Someone called back from a different number 2 times after that but I didn't answer. beleive me, THIS IS A SCAM and please don't send them any money! They are a telemarketing comapany based out of California and I have really reported them.

I got a phone call today at 9am asking for Susan (my name is not Susan) when I said "wrong number" the man with the strong Indian voice said "Oh is xxx there" (thats me!). So basically the same as everyone else he tells me i've commmitted criminal check fraud (what?!) and that I took deposits from the company "internet payday loan company" (WTF IS THAT?!). He proceeds to tell me that he saw my records and since I have a good history and am a "good citizen" he wanted to offer me an option of NOT going to court and paying $6000 worth of legal fees. If i just pay $824.16 (the loan plus interest) everything would be resolved. I was flabbergasted and extremely upset-I didnt understand how this was possible and this "Max Miller" person was EXTREMELY intimidating, loud and screaming at me! I had to fax over my social security #, drivers license number, signature and my DEBIT card to pay. Naturally I had my good friend and lawyer call and they would not talk to her and and give her ANY documentation regarding this-SCAM! beware...if you really owed money to a debt collector you'd get a physican notice in the mail or something more legit.

I too just got a call, both on my cell & at work.  Was informed i would be arrested due to a law suit, that i would loose my home, etc.  I am glad all this info is here and when they call again, i'll let them know they should contact my husband, a law enforcement worker at the DA's office.  Perhaps they will stop calling.

The middle eastern guy says I have an outstanding pay day loan and if I do not pay $9,000 today he will send the sheriffs to my home to arrest me and take my car and house and job from me this faternoon. I ask him to fax me some information and he states he can not, he can only take a payment or will mark me as refusing to pay and to send the sheriff.

I never used any pay day loan company

They call me today and said i was being sued and they were from a federal crime investigation, and someone called Gibson something left the message, what it worries me is that they have my SSA number.What can i do?

Someone named Max called and left me a message that I was going to be arrested if I didn't call him and settle. I called and was told Max was out for two days. I was sent to his supervisor who told me I owed for an on line loan. When I told him I did not get loans on line he told me I was going to have to pay $5000.00 when I go to court, and then he hung up. I then put the phone number in Yahoo search and found out this is some sort of scam. I did not give out any personal info, except for my phone number which they already had. Glad I looked this up. Also none of the people I talked with spoke very good english.

This was the first of three phone numbers used when I was called. I didn't answer any of them bc I don't answer numbers I don't know and if its really important they will leave a message. The first message said that I was being called because my brother had a lawsuit filed against him and I was a reference and that if I didn't have my brother call back then legal action would be taken against me. I told my brother and he called but never got hold of anyone, a day or two later same thing, message had same voice, different name, and different number (606-578-8876). They just called again today this time no number came up at all on my caller id just "unknown" voicemail left a third number (760-284-4699)to contact but same threat. So I looked it up and found all of this information. I know they got all this information from my brothers loan apps, and neither one of us has given any more information than they already have, he is going to contact an authority and hopefully the calls will stop because I don't want to get a new number, but I also don't want these calls to keep happening.

I guess I am a really nieve and STUPID person. I fell for these guys, not once but at least four times. I did take out a few payday loans back in 2006 and honestly I thought I had paid them off. But when these guys called me they scarred the HECK out of me. I didn't know I could not be arrested and I honestly thought they were ligit. I thought if I hurried and took care of the problem my husband would not find out and we would not have the embarassment of police coming to our door and taking  me away in handcuffs for all our neighboors to see. So my question is now...What do I do? How do I get them to stop calling me? And can I get the money back that they took? Who do I contact? I would like to have some answers before I tell my husband that his wife is stupid. Also I have agreed for them to take money out of my account in the next week, how do I stop that from happening? If anybody has any answers for me I would really appreciate some help. I alrerady feel like the BIGGEST IDIOT on the face of this earth, so help? Please...THANKS

Here is a list of the names and numbers they have been giving me

Officer Brian Daniels: 1-585-861-4713
Verification officer Heidi Harris from the Maryland Bureau of Criminal Investigations: 1-301-458-7129
Paul Walker: 1-206-237-0048
Attorney Jack Cooper: 1-347-466-7461
Ron Johnson: 1-469-582-7509
Attorney Tony Anderson: 1-609-318-3095
Max Miller: 1-614-594-0472
My Favorite so far...Mikial Barricoff...Really, a Russian name with a heavy Indian/Middle Eastern Accent...No Joke... left no number to call, at least not one I understood, threatened me with being arrested in broad daylight, humiliation, and jail time in which bad things could happen to me.

The numbers that appear on my cell phone start with 052, or 0000