Scams are all over Illinois for payday loans no faxing debt collection. Con artists posing as debt collectors have somehow obtained the phone numbers and personal data of current and former paydayloans borrowers. Bullying and threats of lawsuit and jail are what these pay day loans collectors scamming will do on the phone. Lisa Madigan is the Illinois Attorney General that issued a consumer alert. This was done as the paydayloans debt scam is prominent.
Intimidation and threats used by debt collection scammers
In recent weeks, the Illinois attorney general’s office has fielded a marked increase in consumer complaints about phone calls from bogus pay day loan debt collectors. Recpients of payday loan scam calls used online payday loan company before. Consumer Affairs reports that they had all paid the debt already by the time they got the call. They say the scammers know their names, social security numbers, employer and account with the bank numbers. Victims think that the scammers are real because of all the details the caller has. The scam artists use threats and intimidation, like lawsuits and jail, to dupe them into authorizing a direct withdrawal from their checking account. .
Legitimate loan lenders compromised
Illinois payday loans no faxing customers aren’t the only ones getting harassed by debt collection scammers. Scams just like this pay day scam are showing up, reports Wallet Pop, in Ohio, Colorado, Florida, Indiana and other states. Madigan said the scammers say they’re from a variety of bogus companies, such as Morgan and Associates, Federal Bureau of Investigators, DNR Recovery, DNI Recovery, Legal Accounts Association, Department of Law and Enforcement, CashNet USA, America Legal Services, Extra cash and ACS. Most of the names are fake. However, CashNet USA is real. On its site, CashNet USA has posted a warning about the scam.
Debt collection harassment is not legal
Debt collectors can’t call between 8 am and 9 pm according to the FTC’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Other things they cannot do include asking for more money than is owed, tell a third party about consumer’s debt or even use threats. Even so, some victims of the Illinois payday loan scam calls told Madigan’s office that they were fooled into paying a number of hundred dollars. Illinois TV station WIFR reports that Madigan offered some advice for people if they are contacted by the scammers.
People don’t go to jail for failing to pay a debt in this country.
Never give out any personal information over the telephone, especially bank account numbers or credit card numbers.
When in doubt, ask the debt collector to produce documentation that qualifies the debt they seek to collect.
Contact the original creditor to confirm if the debt has been paid. If not, confirm that the debt was sold to a third party collector before making a payment.
Additional reading
Consumer Affairs
consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/08/il_payday_lending.html
Wallet Pop
walletpop.com/blog/2010/08/26/warning-issued-over-bogus-payday-loan-debt-collector-calls/
WIFR
wifr.com/news/headlines/101497999.html?ref=999
