772-409-6079

called and threatened me about a loan which was not mine.  violation of fair debt collections act and third party state to state communications. told me I was a guarantor.  never signed any loan agreement.

Same as above.. i even printed my bank statment to look for this loan on m y acct. When i informed them that I had no deposit in my acct. for the date they gave me nor b4 or after; he statrted yelling that i better pay. I hung up on them. they dont give you much info. on them nore did they have my info.
Be careful!

well this numbe (772)409-6079 done the same to me but i never took a loan out   so i had my mom listen in and there was 2 girls in the back ground laughing and he asked me if this is my last 4 digits of my social security i dont know how the hell they got that imfo from like i said i dont have a bank account so how can i  get loans? thats stupid.

I got a phone call today from this number, accusing me of an unpaid payday loan from ADVANCE CASH USA or CASH ADVANCE USA (it was very difficult to understand them), he knew my personal info such as my e-mail, the last 4 of my social security number, the name of my bank, etc.  They claimed this unpaid payday loan was from March 2009 - of which I didn't even have an e-mail address in 2009.   SCAMMMM  everyone beware....

I received the first phone call several months ago - scared the jeep out of me because the person calling stated that he was a federal agent  and that I was being brought up on several federal charges. He read my complete SSI # as well as my address to me. As a single parent with a small child it was more than a bit disconcerting. The man then became extremely rude and began to use profanity when I questioned his " authority ". I did say " if I were being brought up on federal charges, wouldn't they simply come arrest me ?? " I tried to tell him that I had looked into a payday advance when things were particularly bad financially, but after reading the fine print and realize that the payday advance was nothing short of legalized loan sharking , I had decided against it. The problem, I believe, is that when you look into a payday advance online, they do ask you for personal information, including reference information. I'm not sure whether the payday advance companies are selling the information to these people, or they're hacking it, but they're getting it ! Today the phone calls started again and this time they also called the references I listed on the original form, stating that they would be responsible for my debt to them. As I never took out a loan I have no debt to them and even I had taken the loan out, they could not legally hold an outside party responsible - what a load of CRAP !! They are persistant and  ruthless though. I'm going to talk to a couple of federal agencies tomorrow to find out if we have any recourse. Let me know if there is indeed a litigation around this, I'd like to be a part of it

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

My phone calls began about a month and a half ago; and just received another one today. Threatening me that I was going to be arrested if I did not pay back a loan....a loan which I never had. The scary part of it all is that he new numbers of my SS#. He knew my address and my place of employment; which he called after he called my cell number!!!! When I would not cooperate with him, he cussed at me an hung up. That is when I found this site thank god; so then I decided to call him back. I told him that I was the police. His reaction was, "Ohhh, the police, I'm so scared!" and then he hung up. I will be reporting this to my local law enforcement.

Have received 2 calls @ work from this number stating I owe money from Pay day cash loan. I have never had a loan through this place. When the man w/ a thick Indian accent was confronted by myself & my husband, he cursed @ us & hung up. I have contacted our local police depart, but they don't know what to do. They had all my info like ss# work address & home address, & bank. Very disturbing. He says there would be a federal warrant out for my arrest. WTH?

I have the same issue as all of you. When I called back to speak to the person who left a message on my Bosses phone they said he was gone for a month. The person name on the message was Eric Johnson and the number was 772-409-6079. The person that I talked to kept giving me different names. When i told him that I was going to file a report against him, he got mad and started to say obscene things to me.I don't owe any loans with Cash Advance or any other loan companies. he said that I had to pay back $7,500. I said yeah right, then just take it to court. he told me to go to the court building the next day at 10am (never said where). For one the next day will be Saturday, that how I know this is a fraudulent thing. I'm just upset that they have a lot of my personal info. If anyone has more info on these people please contact me at twty20tweety@yahoo.com.

Best way to get these guys to quit calling is to start reading them the Bible.  Don't say hi, don't answer their questions, don't let them interrupt you.  Just start reading as soon as they come on the line and keep going until they hang up.  It usually only takes about twice before they stop calling for good.

this company continally is calling my job threating not only myself but other employees. this is about a payday loan. they keep using foul and abusive language. how can i get them to stop calling?

this company continally is calling my job threating not only myself but other employees. this is about a payday loan. they keep using foul and abusive language. how can i get them to stop calling?

Got a call 2day from 000-000-000...it wasnt even a 10-digit phone #! I answered & was told by a man w/ a heavy middle eastern accent that there was a lawsuit against me. He gave my full ssn & 2 previous addresses. I was in shock...of course I told him he didnt have the right info tho. He proceded to tell me that I had to make a decision, either contact an attny & take the it to court OR settle outside of court. He never provided a specific name/district for the "courthouse", only that he would forward my info to the "county clerk" to start legal proceedings. I knew this was a scam because I never received any $...seriously if I got an additional $600 in my checking acct that couldn't get past me! He told me that I owed $3900. I asked how in the world could that be! He said the original principal balance was $600 but then he started talking really fast in his oh-so-super-clear American accent that fees & blah-blah-blah added up to make it $3900. I was laughing at this point, but still eager to find out why they were targeting me. I ask how the loan was originated & he said online. He became agitated & said "are you going to resolve this matter now or what?" I advised him I have nothing to hide or run from & I want something in writing. He said he already gave me the info i needed to know & will tell his attny that I am not willing to work out payment arrangements. I asked for the name & # for the company that supposedly originated this loan. He told me "Advance Cash USA" & told me their # is 516-490-8235. I told him I was busy & had to go & asked for his # as well. He said his # is 772-409-6079 and his name is "Robin Smith"...yeah right! An hour later I called both #'s back to fish for more info. Both men that answered had heavy middle eastern accents & were unable to provide me with any real info. They never provided specific dates of the alleged transactions & became upset when I told them they are scam artists. When I demanded more info from them, they said "No ma'am...why would i give you more info...you just called us scam artists so you're not going to believe what i tell you anyway". They are super childish & I cant wait for them to get caught. I am going to report them to the AG and see what happens.

Its a scam...unfortunately I dont have any advice to offer on how to stop these losers from calling.

This man by the name of Mark Anderson calls from a 0000000 number (as it appears on my caller ID. I received a total of 58 calls back to back. there were more but I kept turning my phone completely off during all the harrassing calls. He is very rude. Telling me he is taking legal action against me I told him he couoldnt continue to call my cell phone like that while Im at work,he doesnt care what I say and blah blah blah. The sad part is I havent taken out any loans. I will be glad when someone puts a stop to these people.

I to have been a victim of the scam. They to are telling me the same thing. I recieved a call from the man that calls himself Erick Johnson at 772-409-6079. I to have been told that they was going to get federal charges on me and claims that they are an attorney. Well Mr.Johnson i am a well-educated woman with a high degree. I also have connections with the FBI whom my brother happens to be a special agent for them so there will be charges filed against you and the district attorney is aware of this. If you know what is best you better stop the scam.

My message service recently recieved a call from a man with a thick Indian accent claiming to be with ACS, who identified himself as Ronald Caprio.  He claimed my SSN was under investigation.  I have never applied for a loan online, and have never applied for a payday loan.  So, I'm not sure how they got my mname, except at random...  He wanted contact information form my service, who is categorically instructed not to provide to anyone.  He apparently requested that I contact him immediately, leaving the 772-409-6079 number as a contact.  I have no intention of contacting him.

A Man said his name was James Johnson he was calling to collect a debt and my social security nuber was being investigated when i said i had no loan he said I was lying and threating me and told me to get my lawyer to call , Ok i said you call my phone one more time my lawyer will call you and ill sue you for fraud and harrassment , besides before i talked to him he called my phone 8 times in a row are you serious....

I'M in the same boat as all of you. I have been receiving calls to my cell and to work from mdn with a heavy accent and from 3 different numbers.772-409-6079, 215-693-4153, & 631-517-4864. These calls are very disturbing. They have threatened me to get me fired, they cursed at the secretary, then they leav demanding voicemails. Sometimes, they end their voicemail by stating, " if i don't hear back from you today, that all i can do is wish you good luck and that they are going to call 911 to have me arrested." The names they use are, shawn woods, carlos cruz, roger smith, daniel lincoln, and ross taylor. Second, these area codes are from 3 different areas, Florida, Pennsylvania, & New York. These guys need to get what they deserve!

My message service recently received a call from a man with a thick Indian accent claiming to be with ACS, who identified himself as Michael Lee.  He claimed my SSN was under investigation.  I have never applied for a loan online, and have never applied for a payday loan.  Somehow these morons have recieved my info as I get these calls very few weeks and it is always the same lamebrains.  They want my information and always go through the same routine of tryin to collect as much information as possible.  When they ask I am very candid and tell them it is so I can provide the most accurate information to the polic department when I report the fraud.  They usually hang up at that point.  This fraud left the 772-409-6079 number as a contact.  Obviously, I have no intention of contacting him.