646-808-3838

Received a phone call at work from this foreign man telling me that I had was being investigated on fraudulent charges along with a friend.  He said my "friend" borrowed money from you payday loan services and din't repay the loan.  He told me that I was listed as a guarnteed contact and that I must repay $650.29 to resolve the matter or I would have criminal charges pressed against me in the state of New York.  He gave me my friend checking act. number, her computer ip address as well as her last 4 digits of her social security number.  I asked for documentation of this "loan" and he told me that he didn't have any available.  I asked to speak to a supervisor, was placed on hold and then told the supervisor was "busy".  I repeatedly asked for information to be faxed to me so my attorney could review this.  He then threatened me stating the company wanted to see me "behind bars" and that I could be arrested at my home or place of work.  I then told him to do what he felt was necessary and I would contact my attorney.  I then called my friend and asked her what it was all about.  She had applied online for a payday loan but didn't get a confirmation she was approved.  This company apparently stole her information and is using it to scam us to pay them back plus court costs for money she never received!  She called the bank and at no time was $350.00 deposited.  BEWARE of this SCAM.  We are contacting the attorney general in our State.  646-808-3838  is the number, watch out everyone!

I just had the same thing happen to me today, and when I called the guy on what he was doing he hung up the phone. When I finally got in touch with him again he was telling me to get my attorney to call him and I told him that I was going to have the cops call him he hung up on me again. It is a MAJOR SCAM.....he was trying to get me for 920.00 dollars.

I had the same thing happen to me also, almost word for word. I knew that something was up when I called him back and it went straight to a voicemail but it wasn't that you have reached so and so at this place it was just leave your message after the beep. He then returned my phone call telling me that "he was just returning a phone call he received" red alert number two, if it was a real collector it would have been more like "I am so and so calling from this place we are trying to reach so and so in a matter that pertains so such". Then I had to tell him my name and who it pertained too, when he finally found who I was talking about he went into that he was going to explain it to me and I wasn't aloud to interupt him until he was done talking. Then when he was done and I tried to ask questions he kept telling me to tell the person who "started" this to call him and I told him she already had. Then he went into telling me that the amount owed was about 900 dollars and I could pay with check debit or credit card,and if I didn't pay it I was looking at three felonies) when I tried to call him on it he got a little upset (I told him that just because the economy stunk he didn't have to try to scam people) he hung up on me. I tried to call him back (ya maybe I was just trying to have a little fun) it kept going to voicemail with no call backs. So I used my aunts phone and it actually rang, when he answered I asked him why he hung up on me, he told me that he didn't, so I said what bad reception? He asked then what I wanted and I told him that I wanted to know what company my friend had taken the loan out with he told me to ask her and to have her call him, then when I said once again that she already called he told me to have my attorney call him so I told him I had a better idea that I was going to have the police call him, and he hung up again. This morning I called the Michigan State Police and they told me that I probably scared him off by telling him I was going to call the police, but they sad not to worry about it unless we see something in writing THROUGH the mail, not E-MAIL!! So if anyone gets a phone call from this guy call him on what it is, and tell him not to bother you any more, (he told me his name was Shawn Preston) but DO NOT give out your personal information or any numbers of yours. Don't let him scare you into anything unless you get something in writing, then take it up to your police station and let them look at it. Whatever the case DO NOT FALL FOR IT!!

The exact same thing happened to me word for word.

I just had the same thing happen to me.  When I pressed him for information, such as why I had not received any corrrespondance by mail, he kept trying to change the subject and tell me I was going to be arrested.  I told him that if he could not answer my questions as to the validity of this "debt" then it could not be legal and I was going to report him to the authorities and then I hung up.  He told me that they "were not allowed to send me anything by mail".  I think we all know that if you have a valid issue - especially of a legal matter - you would have received somthing in writing.

i recieved several calls from this number...

Just got the same kind of call...have been getting calls like this for the past several months. IT`S ALL A SCAM. We never had a payday loan and that is what they are claiming we are being sued for. And if we dont call back and take care of it...my husband will be arrested. Have had several calls from someone supposedly in Florida, and now one in New York, claiming that my husband will be arrested. Our first calls from them were back in Dec, and started back up again in March. And my husband hasn`t been arrested yet...SO YES IT IS A SCAM....They have a lot of his personal information though...these people need to be caught and arrested...this is such harrassment and they are getting away with this EVERYDAY. ....they all have heavy Indian accents. And yes, if this was a true legal matter....we would definitley receive letters and things in the mail regarding the "debt". Not harrassing phone calls from foreigners...

Well like you guys I have been receiving the same calls but from a different number 646-626-4201..these guys have many different phone numbers and are harassing a lot of people. I reported them to the FTC and BBB and called my local police department which then called them themselves.. They are scam artist and I would suggest that we all start filing complaints so they can stop! They reside at 229 East 11th Street! they are crooks trying to live off of other peoples money!

I have received several call from these scumbags using several aliases and ph#. I have contacted the FTC and Atty General. I do not understand why nothing has been done yet to stop these crooks. Do not give any information to them and report immediately. They may be using several of the PH#'s below and call themselves: ACS, LLC Law Office, Payday Loans

646-626-4201
646-224-9884
646-808-3838
202-752-2303
214-629-7263

I to have been a victim of this now they called me saying it was for an internet website used illegaly, the number they called me from was -646-448-07??

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