315-413-8012

A Mike Stone is calling from this number and claims he is from a legal department but not a company. Anyone have any information on them?

my husband got a same call also. they said my husband borrowed money from cash advanced america and he owes 310 dollars. they even threatened my husband saying they have his social security number etc etc then my husband asked them to give him his social security number to verify their info they said they will not give because the issue is the money not his social security.  they said my husband needs to fax them a letter stating that my husband is allowing them to take out money from our bank and they said they will prosecute my husband in few days if my husband do not do any further action. FYI my husband didnt borrowed money from advance america. so we dont know if its a SCAM or

It is a SCAM!  These guys are just using a new number now.  Below is more info for a number that someone collected and posted at another number they were using.  

**Reposted from https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-412-444-1027**
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

hi i got a same call and dont know what to do i dont know if its a scam or not i never borrowed moned from them and no wire transfer coming in my account i checked with my bank my bank told me there is no wire transfer coming in my account so i dont know i told them that i googeled their number and he told me might someone else is using the identical number i dont know what to do i ask him if i can mail the money throu money other but he said no and threaten me to give him my debit card number so please let me know or give my a suggestion what to do

Don't give them anything. Tell them to just [***] right off.

dont give your debit card number or dont ever fax a written authorization letter from you that your letting them to take money from your bank account. REMEMBER this dont pay anything that at the first place u never owed any money from them. When they call u up again tell them that u already reported them to the FRAUd department and authorities in your area and currently they are now investigating on them. they wont leave you alone they will keep on calling you. just dont pick up or everytime they call you tell them same thing. THEY ARE BIG TIME SCAMMER!! and scammed alot of people from taking 100-400 dollars dont let them victimized you.

thank you. eventually they will leave you alone just ignore them.

100% agree

thank you so much for the info and for your time replying in our post. it helped us a lot.
take care!

I received a call from this number threatening me with a law suit. I have not borrowed money from anyone or applied for any type of loan.  I could barely understand anything they said. When I asked where they got my information they hung up on me. How could they have gotten my private cell number and know my home address?

IT IS A SCAM GOT THE SAME CALL FUNNY THING THEY GOT YOU OFF A LIST IF YOU PROBABLY EVEN YEARS AGO SIGNED UP FOR A PAYDAY LOAN ETC OR JUST PLAINLY PUT YOUR INFO ONLINE. THE GUY HUNG UP ON ME AS SOON AS AI ASKED IF IT WAS A SCAM A PROFESSIONAL MAN WOULD OF GIVEN ME MORE DETAILS NOT HUNG UP ON ME. AND OR THREATEN YOU THE WAY HE HAS.

jenny its a scam dont worry about it had they already had your full info they would of drained your account completely just dont provide any info even if they so call say they have your social security number and address. they dont have the full social its a scam and if they do dont give them anymore info as far as your accounts or credit card info etc.. dont fall for it!

Got a call from a man who said his name is mike, but no last name. he claimed to have my SS#  AND INFORMATION ABOUT ME.

OMG... my friend just got a call and a voicemail!  She said he was going to sue her and he kept mumbling.

I wonder if you can just call them back and yell at them :)  It's definitely a stress reliever!! ;)

He Called me today tottally fake call

He called me twice today, hard to understand Indian accent, claimed he was "Officer Mark Johnson" (with that accent? right!) and said he was following up on a "legal list" from the N.S.A. that has my name on it or a complaint against someone using my name. Said he was with the "Legal Universe Notification Department! Come more, moron! You can at least come up with something that at least sounds real. Idiot! Anyway, I gave him the old "disconnect" signal when he called back. You know the one, a micro-recording of a "disconnected phone" signal. He removes the number from his list and moves on to the next pigeon. Same response I give to automated telemarketing calls, works every time. Oh and I've never applied for a payday loan!  So that's not how he got my number. Bottom line . . don't give them anything! Don't even respond to them.  Except maybe with a loud metal whistle or a portable air-horn in the mouthpiece!!

~I also keep getting calls and texts messages from "MIke Stone" who has a very thick accent (obviously not belong to someone with the name Mike Stone, come on).  I have never spoken to him, however I called the number back to see who answered and he answered saying he was from the new york legal dept.  or something along those lines..about 8 months ago he called as well...leaving a voice mail saying my name is Kristy and i'm in legal trouble and he needed my SSN...What an idiot.  This guy needs to be caught and exported back to where ever he came from.

confused,   could noit understand anything this person said, just recieved it and let it go to answering machine and it was impossible to understand

I have the same problem & he has called more than once...I believe it started by posting my place of work on my FB page, I removed it, but I think they called work one day when I wasn't at work and someone gave them my cell phone #. I don't answer, but they leave a message that I can barley understand because of a heavy accent & static in the line. They say that they are an officer, this is my last call, they state my home address, then say "your SSC# has been blocked" & accusing me of criminal actives, that I have used someone’s identity falsely and my name and physical address is in a law suit. I am afraid to call back and don't know where or how to get help. I don't want someone showing up on my doorstep, with kids in the house nor do I call back for fear of just by calling it verifies their purpose or make matters worse. I am also this could be put on a report and keep me from doing things financially. My kids & boyfriend have listened to the recording. What can I do? All of the innuendos are false; I have no reason to be receiving such calls.

guy with foreign accent calls and leaves this message- "this is Officer Bob Cooper with the Law Investigation Dept.. about a real emergency for you.  Help yourself and get back to me as soon as possible.  Your SS#, your address and other personal information has been compromised.  Return my call We want to help you."

I suspect it has something to do with the fact that citibank was hacked.. this guy is certainly not going to be able to "help" me.. I also recved a call from 302 526 1234 yesterday with similar content

This number just called me and scared the living hell out of me.  They said a company was suing me and they were the legal department and that I owed $375.  I argued over and over with him but he just kept telling me that he was trying to be nice to me and just give me the information that I needed.  I googled the number and came up with this site, so I called him back and told him I knew it was a scam and that he needed to leave me alone.  I could see someone that is in a financial crisis falling for something like this, especially an elderly person.  This guy needs to be caught!