|
Telephone Collection Scam Related to Delinquent Payday Loans
12/01/2010—The IC3 receives a high volume of complaints from victims of payday loan telephone collection scams. In these scams, a caller claims that the victim is delinquent in a payday loan and must repay the loan to avoid legal consequences. The callers purport to be representatives of the FBI, Federal Legislative Department, various law firms, or other legitimate-sounding agencies. They claim to be collecting debts for companies such as United Cash Advance, U.S. Cash Advance, U.S. Cash Net, and other Internet check cashing services.
One of the most insidious aspects of this scam is that the callers have accurate information about the victims, including Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, employer information, bank account numbers, and names and telephone numbers of relatives and friends. The method by which the fraudsters obtained the personal information is unclear, but victims often relay that they had completed online applications for other loans or credit cards before the calls began.
The fraudsters relentlessly call the victim’s home, cell phone, and place of employment. They refuse to provide to the victims any details of the alleged payday loans and become abusive when questioned. The callers threaten victims with legal actions, arrests, and in some cases physical violence if they refuse to pay. In many cases, the callers even resort to harassment of the victim’s relatives, friends, and employers.
Some fraudsters instruct victims to fax a statement agreeing to pay a certain dollar amount, on a specific date, via prepaid visa card. The statement further declares that the victim would never dispute the debt.
These telephone calls are an attempt to obtain payment by instilling fear in the victims. Do not follow the instructions of the caller.
If you receive telephone calls such as these, you should:
- Contact your banking institutions;
- Contact the three major credit bureaus and request an alert be put on your file;
- Contact your local law enforcement agencies if you feel you are in immediate danger;
- File a complaint at www.IC3.gov.
Fraudulent Notification Deceives Consumers Out of Thousands of Dollars
11/29/2010—The IC3 continues to receive reports of letters and e-mails being distributed pursuant to prize sweepstakes or lottery schemes. These schemes use counterfeit checks that bear legitimate-looking logos of various financial institutions to fool victims into sending money to the fraudsters.
Fraudsters tell victims they won a sweepstakes or lottery, but to receive a lump sum payout, they must pay the taxes and processing fees upfront. Fraudsters direct individuals to call a telephone number to initiate a letter of instructions. The letter alleges that the victim may elect to take an advance on the winnings to make the required upfront payment. The letter includes a check in the amount of the alleged taxes and fees, along with processing instructions. Ultimately, victims believe they are using the advance to make the required upfront payment, but in reality they are falling prey to the scheme.
The victim deposits the check into their own bank, which credits the account for the amount of the check before the check clears. The victim immediately withdraws the money and wires it to the fraudsters. Afterwards, the check proves to be counterfeit and the bank pulls the respective funds from the victim’s account, leaving the victim liable for the amount of the counterfeit check plus any additional fees the bank may charge.
Persons may fall victim to this scheme due to the allure of easy money and the apparent legitimacy of the check the fraudsters include in the letter of instruction. The alleged cash prizes and locations of the financial institutions vary.
Tips to avoid being scammed:
- A federal statute prohibits mailing lottery tickets, advertisements, or payments to purchase tickets in a foreign lottery.
- Be leery if you do not remember entering a lottery or sweepstakes.
- Beware of lotteries or sweepstakes that charge a fee prior to delivering your prize.
- Be wary of demands to send additional money as a requirement to be eligible for future winnings.
If you have been a victim of this type of scam or any other cyber crime, you can report it to the IC3 at http://www.IC3.gov. The IC3 complaint database links complaints for potential referral to law enforcement for case consideration. Complaint information is also used to identify emerging trends and patterns to alert the public to new criminal schemes.
http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/e-scams
Related.
Imagine getting an e-mail from the FBI. What would you do? Chances are you’d respond to find out what’s up. And bad guys who pretend to be FBI agents are counting on that.
Sierra Smith, who lives in the Seattle area, says it was very scary when she got an e-mail from “Special Agent John Edward.” The message said two trunks containing $4.1 million were confiscated at JFK airport and a document inside had her name it.
-
-
ConsumerMan is on FacebookStay up to date with the latest consumer news
-
The e-mail went on to threaten arrest.
Smith replied and asked to see credentials. The follow-up e-mail had an attachment with an FBI badge and a picture ID. In a follow-up e-mail she was asked for $850 to resolve the matter.
Smith didn’t send the money. Instead, she did something very smart. She contacted the FBI office in Seattle and was told about the scam.
This is what’s known as an imposter scam. The Federal Trade Commission says a growing number of scams now involve some sort of impersonation. In fact, imposter scams are now No. 6 on the FTC’s list of Top Ten Complaints for 2010. The commission received more than 60,000 complaints about imposter scams last year.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42347772/ns/business-consumer_news/
Leave a Reply