I've heard that the payday sites are brokers for more than one company and they send the info to several pay day companies who decide if you get a loan and these scammers are one of the 'companies.' I've heard they operate bogus pay day sites themselves, no one gets the loan and everyone gets the calls or emails. I've also heard of them getting their info from dating sites.
Anywhere you have put your information could be their source.
They could have paid an employee at some legitimate company to give them the database. I've heard you can buy lists of people who have owed money without buying the debt and some of the domestic collector companies are working off those lists, which is why some people are getting calls on 20 year old paid off or discharged in bankruptcy debts from American accented people. That is just as scammy if you ask me, but you may be able to sue those, unlike the Indian fake debt people.
I read earlier this year that half of the fortune 500 companies still had computers infected with the DNS changer trojan, can you imagine how many instead have keyloggers or other malware? How many data breaches have we read about in recent years? That information is sold to scammers. They could have your email or phone contact lists, credit card, bank account information, ssn, etc. List all the people who have been called about you by these scammers and think, where did you put all that info? Also, some of the info about relatives is freely available on the internet and then they can look up listed numbers for them. Maybe you have keyloggers or remote access malware on your computer. Consider a clean OS reinstall, if you can't be sure. Make sure you keep your security software up to date and run scans regularly with multiple malware scanners, be careful which ones you download. Check out their reputations, some are known to be malware or 'ransomware' themselves. Practice good internet hygiene, don't click on questionable links, ignore security warnings, open spam email, etc. Scan any downloads with more than one malware scanner after googling the name of the file to see if there are any reports of malware associated with it.
Be careful what info you give out and caution all your friends and relatives about it. Tell them you are being targeted by scammers and they should never give or confirm info about you to anyone. Take your own advice and never give or confirm info to anyone who calls no matter what caller ID says and no matter what the caller says, just hang up. Don't answer numbers you don't recognize.
Look at your social media profiles and remove or make visible only to you sensitive information, DOB, phone numbers, addresses, friends lists, etc and lock down the security and privacy on those so no one you don't know well can see your updates, including friends whose accounts aren't secure, consider not updating for a while. Your friends friends and apps can probably see your accounts. Look at all your apps, you don't know who is behind those. Turn off the platform app on Facebook for ex. At least go through your friends and followers lists and block anyone you don't know, look at your friends' friends lists, use privacy controls to limit what most people see.
If your credit card company calls, hang up and call the number on your card. If another bank calls, call the published number, whether you have an account there or not to make sure someone hasn't opened one in your name. If these scammers are targeting you, close your bank accounts and open new ones in a different bank. Call your credit card companies and report your card lost so they issue a new account number. Keep a close check on all accounts and dispute charges or withdrawals that aren't yours, in a timely manner by phone and online, follow up in writing by snail mail.
Opt out
https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=tRequest your free annual credit reports by mail
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/requestformfinal.pdfIf there is anything to dispute, you're better off disputing it from a mailed paper copy, they sometimes have info that the downloaded ones don't have and are the ones that are given out when someone checks your credit.
If there are old or inaccurate addresses, first make sure all your legitimate reporting creditors have and are reporting your current address and then dispute the others by sending a copy of your picture ID and a copy of a utility or other bill with your current address. Tell them to remove the old or wrong addresses because they are not accurate (not because they are old) and you are worried about identity theft.
Set a fraud alert, keep renewing it and consider a credit freeze
http://www.equifax.com/answers/set-fraud-alerts/en_cpChange every phone number you can and get a Google Voice number to give out when you can't avoid giving a phone number. Always unlist, unpublish your new numbers and make sure they are on the Do Not Call list. Be really careful who you give your real numbers to and caution them to not share. Anyone you can't count on gets your GV number instead or just use it for everyone. You can decide for each and every contact how the call is handled by GV, down to which voicemail message they get or if it ever rings your phone. Never call toll free or unknown numbers from any number except your GV number. It's easy, you put in the number you want to call and choose which phone you want to use. GV calls you first then the other party and the only caller ID info they get is your GV number. I think on some Sprint phones you can use your phone number as your GV number. GV has a recorder for incoming calls, enable it and use it when you think you need to. Check the laws in your state to see when or if you are obligated inform the caller.
Consider going with a new phone company if you can, some people report that these scammers get their new numbers right away, could these people have had their smart phones hacked or could the scammers have a (possibly outsourced) mole in the phone company? Maybe a prepaid 'throw away' phone bought with cash would be a good idea, if possible. Maybe you can get a phone on someone's family plan if they aren't on the scammers' radar.
Tell your job about the scammers and caution them to never reveal contact, employment or other personal information about you to anyone over the phone. In large companies they may want to send out a memo about it to all departments, they could have multiple employees who have already fallen for the scam and everyone needs to be aware this can happen so they can take steps to protect themselves. Don't be embarrassed to share this info with anyone from your employer to your Grandmother. This can happen to anyone, not just people who owe money or have taken out payday loans.
It is also good practice to 1. never use your main email address for anything but email. 2. never use the same user name for more than one email account. 3. never use the same user name for more than one financial account 4. when you set up a recovery email address (for resetting passwords) make it an address you use for nothing else. 5 make it a habit to check every email address you have once a week so you don't lose access. 5 never use the same password for more than one account and consider the use of a password manager. 6 use two factor authentication where ever possible 6. don't store credit card info on sites you buy from, for things like iTunes you can buy gift cards to use. 7 never use the same email addresses that you use for purchasing or banking for anything else, like email or commenting on the internet, don't publish them anywhere or give them to anyone. 8 If your credit card allows one time use numbers, use them. 9 If you have accounts that you have to pay by draft or automatic card debit, consider using a dedicated bank account that you don't keep much more money in than you need to pay those bills, just enough to avoid low balance or overdraft service charges.
Read this article to see what else can happen if you aren't careful about information security
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/08/apple-amazon-mat-honan-hacking/all/Learn your rights
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.shtm If a collector doesn't send you snail mail with the information required by law within 5 days of first contact they are probably scamming or at least trying to collect a debt you are not obligated to pay. If you can get a corporate address, send them a dispute letter asking for validation of the debt, mailed certified return receipt requested. If the debt is not yours, paid, time-barred, discharged, etc, make the letter a full cease and desist, they are not to call or otherwise contact you at all about this debt. You don't have to prove anything about it unless they try to sue you for it. Then you answer the suit by the time specified, saying that it's not yours, paid, time-barred, discharged, etc, and show up in court with your proof. If it is not you they are asking for invoke your rights under both the TCPA and the FDCPA in the cease and desist. You can sue under both. If you think you might owe it and it is valid make the letter a limited cease and desist telling them that all phone calls are inconvenient and you are to be contacted only through US mail. Be sure to use the words 'cease and desist' and 'inconvenient.' Do not acknowledge the debt at all, on the phone or in writing, until you are sure it is valid, you are obligated to pay it and they are authorized to collect it. If it is past the statute of limitations any acknowledgement can restart the clock. Just tell them it is unfamiliar and after you have received validation from them you will check your records. Don't promise anything else. People have been dunned by different companies for the same debt, how do you know which, if any, really owns it or if they can prove it? Document everything, every call, email, letter, etc and keep copies. You may be able to sue if they are in the US. Demanding validation may get rid of the collector, they can't legally pursue it without sending validation. If they continue or do anything else illegal, sue them.
Scammers don't obey any laws, though, so it won't help with them. Gather all the information you have about them and file a police report, report them to your state's Attorney General's office, the FTC and
http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx When they call, tell them you have reported them and you are recording them for the authorities.
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