917-210-0479

Caller was female/indian most likely.  Called from another number gave this one to call back.  Claimed to be from some collection agency.   Called back again left message.  Threating legal action if i did not call back.

Suspect fraud.

They have called my work, home & cell numbers. Very rude. Also threatening legal action.

Caller was a female with an Indian accent.  Claimed to be from some collection agency, threatened legal action and that my SSA Benefits would be cut for one year and my drivers license revoked for six months.  

Sounds like a scam to me.

I started receiving phone calls from this number two days ago claiming to be a collection agency as well with an idian accent as well. I called the agency she named that she got my info and they reported to me they have no clue who these people are. THey have to be a scam.

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

I got the exact same messege yesterday..I have been getting these calls from the same group of Indian people since March !!! I have contacted the Colorado Attorney Generals office and have an open case on file there..You might want to do the same in your state..

thank you for your post very informative and right on target!!
much appriciated i hate them soooooo annoying!!

Same story.  This Indian person claims to be from a litigation company for a payday loan.  I have never used a payday loan, and I never will.  917-210-0479 is his call back number.  He is calling from New York according to who/where.  He is threatening to my finances and social security.  This scammer also calls himself Daniel Thomas and uses a cell phone from Delaware (302-725-4196) to represent himself as the Fraud Protection Department.  I wish that the police could track these con artist down and put an end to the harassing phone calls I get.  I am going to change my number.

Incoming message from "UNKNOWN". Indian male voice leaves return number of 917-210-0479. Threatens to withhold first year of SS payments and revoke drivers license. I call back. Same male voice states I owe $453.00 for a $300.00 payday loan taken out in Dec. 09. Not. I tell him, "I know you are trying to scam me." He states, "Ok, sir. I'm a scam. Believe what you want. Goodbye", and hangs up. Wonder if he's gonna call back. Doubt it. Glad to see these posts. A little unsettling to receive these calls, even thought I'm confident of their bogus-ness. Watch your backs, folks.

This guy called me at work.  I immediately told him I have never had a payday loan and disputed the debt.  He said he could email me proof.  I got an email all right but it is in no way proof of debt.  I returned the e-mail telling him that in accordance with the FDCPA he is not to call me at work and that I am disputing the validity of the debt and request proof in writing (US MAIL) from the original creditor.  I also informed him that if he does not provide the proof or contacts me at work again I would report him to the Attorney General's office.  I don't know if this will help but it sure made me feel better.  Thanks for all of the posts and helpful information.  Had I not researched this after the previous call and found this information I may have been frightened by this call.

I get these calls probably once a week.  I ignore them and let them leave their same message... "you must appear in court... our investigator will be in touch..." blah blah blah.  Every now and then I get the motivation to call back and tell them i have reported them to the FTC and my state's Attorney General.  They hang up as soon as I mention that.  Naturally they call back over and over.  I thought about changing my number but can't be bothered.  I know it is a scam.  Yeah, I made the mistake of taking out a payday loan, but I repaid it (early I might add) and have proof of the payment so if they try to do anything i can fight them.  In the mean time it is just a nuisance.

917-210-0479
                   Rec'd   voicemail  message from the above telephone # threating legal action. I responded to the call and curse them out. It  was my turn to  act  belligerent after receiving so many calls from the same types of comapnies.  I am being call at  work and  on my cellphone.  I made the  individuals aware that they are  trying to scam people. Do they have a conscience, if so this  would not be occurring.

Received a harassing call from 917-210-0479 stating I had taken a Pay Day Loan on June 2010 in Arkansas.  They had my SSN & bank account number and the caller said his name was David Ross.  I knew that they were a scam because these types of loans have been illegal in Arkansas since 2008 and the last pay day loan stores closed in August 2009.  

Thank goodness we have this in place in Arkansas, but for those that don't have this covered... if you have a Blackberry or an Android phone try and look up the application "Privacy Star".  They can capture the "real" number the person is calling from (no spoofing allowed here) and they also have a direct link to reporting these guys to the FTC.

I received a call from an UNKNOWN NUMBER, I answered and a Indian guy was telling me I took out a payday loan and never repaid it in June 2010. I know for a fact I never did so I ask where did I do this he stated online. He told me I owed 345 but they woulld settle for 300. He said they deposited into my U.S. Bank account and gave me the last 4 digits of that account and my SS#. I said what company would the deposit be coming from he said I don't no because they are just the collection company.I said okay what amount would the deposit be made in. He didn't know that either he only knew I needed to pay 345. He said they would freeze my bank account take me to court take my DL and take me to court. I called my bank and like I assumed there where no deposits made into the account in May June or July that I didn't make at a local branch. They informed me that many US bank customers have had the same calls and not to worry about it. No deposits where made and that the so called collections company can't do anything unless they can verify I received money from them. The state should have something in place to help people understand what to do in situation like these. I was scared at first thinking I was in trouble for something I didn't even know about.

His call back info was 1-917-210-0479. He said his name was David Rogers. I said, "David Rogers? But you can barely speak English so I know you weren't born in the U.S.A. and you are from some other country. Why would they name you David Rogers instead of David Abdula or something." He said, "Sir, that is my name." It is such a scam; do not give them any money. Let them go out and shovel camel [***] for 345 dollars.

Please note that in addition to what the previous posts from the saint, if your information was released from a payday loan company such as cashnet and others these loan companys are in direct violation of FTC laws. In specific the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act that was signed into affect in 2004 by President Bush. These laws hold any business regardless of size or type directly responsible for your non public information. They are liable under these laws for fines of up to $3500 per instance as well as civil lawsuits and class action lawsuits. They are being held responsible for actual damages. If you believe your identity has been compromised I would advise you to contact the Federal Trade Commission ASAP. If you need further information on this growing form of identity theft and what you can do about it please feel free to visit my website. I represent a company that deals with FACTA compliance and Identity theft. I and a Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist (CITRMS). My website is as follows:
www.mylegacybusinesssolutions.com
Please feel free to visit it and if you need further information fill out the contact info and I will contact you personally.
The reason I am posting this is they have tried their scam on me the other day. To bad for them.

I have been recieving calls for about a year, different phone numbers and this time I recieved a call from a women foriegn accent , name- Jeannie Mc Donald . She said if a didn't call her back on legal aligations against me that I would pay severe consecunses if I did not return her call . Then I came to my computer and saw all these comments, which help a lot. Everyone needs to report these guys to every and all deportments for harrasing phone calls, Consumer affairs, Your Telphone provider, maybe even congress, we have to get them stop, now my son is getting threating phone calls about me and he could be sued if he doesn't give them information.They are getting are information off the internet some how.and that needs investigating also maybe FBI or Attorney General. If anyone has ever done a payday loan on the internet you type your name on loan documents you do not even sign them so I was told and if they are getting that info then they also have last 4 digits of your social security number , your address and bank account number. Without your written permission they can't use it to get your money but keep an eye on your bank accounts.

These ppl called me too.... I have told them off several times. One time they called me back when I told them off and threatened to shoot me, rape me and all kind of craziness.. now I have a bad credit record and and should have no reason why its bad I pay everything.... are they able to mess with my credit?

yes they can mess with your credit report so if u want you can clear our loan  with them..

My story is pretty much the same.The caller's name was Jenny McDonald from "PayDay Collections" saying I took out a payday loan that I know I didn't do. When I asked them to verify info for such as when and where i supposedly did this they had no answer of course.I told them I would give my attorny their info and have him call them back. This was the first and hopefully the last call I get from them.