Harassment from Phony Debt Collectors Raises Concerns of Identity Theft
BBB Warns Scammers have Social Security and Bank Account Numbers, Home Addresses and Employer Information
Austin, TX – August 12, 2009 – Better Business Bureau is issuing an alert about phony debt collectors calling consumers nationwide and claiming they have defaulted on a payday loan and will be arrested if they don’t pay immediately. Claiming to be lawyers, the scammers say they are with the “Financial Accountability Association” or the “Federal Legislation of Unsecured Loans” and are equipped with a surprising amount of personal information about their potential victims.
“Because the scammers have so much information about these people, BBB is concerned that they may have stolen this information from a database,” said Carrie A. Hurt, President and CEO of BBB serving Central, Coastal and Southwest Texas. “It appears that those who have previously used payday loan services could be particularly at risk.”
According to reports received by BBB, the scammers accuse the victim of defaulting on a payday loan and claim they are being sued. The phony debt collector threatens that if the victim doesn’t pay as much as $1,000 immediately via wire or by providing bank account or credit card numbers, he or she will be arrested and extradited to California within the hour to stand trial. The scammers often have the victim’s Social Security, old bank account or driver’s license numbers as well as home addresses, employer information and even the names of personal friends and professional references.
Complaints filed online include the following phone numbers the scammers are calling from: 949-468-5107, 415-200-0274, 415-200-0274, 213-784-5745, 408-715-1614 and many others.
BBB offers the following advice to consumers if they receive a suspicious telephone call about an outstanding debt: