Ben, do you know if they call from a consistent #? Or does the spoofing create a new number on your caller ID each time?

I'm curious because recently my GF was getting calls from the same # over and over, they wouldn't stop, and the cell phone company refused to do anything to help us block that #. Figure maybe this is something consumers can follow up on?

Another nail in the coffin of PDLs. They may be the criminal, but the PDLs that sold them the data should also be held accountable.

Why not tell them you will pay, after they wire your Nigerian cousin who is a prince some money for a car

My wife had something like this happen a couple of years ago for something she had paid off long ago. She gave them the 'see you in court' treatment and they stopped.

@akacrash: The number doesn't change each time, if it's the same guy calling, but the place itself will use different numbers. Also, they'll call you from one number and tell you to call back another.

The phone company won't do anything unless that number is a source of a massive amount of complaints and its messing with their network.

For your case, your girlfriend should tell them that if they call again, she will file harassment charges. Then if they call again, call the police and file a report. See if you can get them to file an injunction against the caller.

@humphrmi: It's uncertain whether the data was sold or stolen, but knowing how these types operate, my money is on "sold."

So this is their brilliant strategy to make up for the bad loans they made!

Oh, US National Bank, not US Bank.

@akacrash: I had this happen as well. [www.youmail.com] allows you to set greetings for each person- They have a "this number is no longer in service" greeting that works great. That and a "mute" ringtone on the blackberry and you are set.

Every time I see a poor-looking person get out of an old, beat up vehicle and walk into a PDL store... I just want to shout "DON'T DO IT!"

This is exactly why black-listing telephone numbers should be baked-in for any telephone number you pay for. Similar to call-waiting, caller ID and the ilk.

@akacrash: My phone (a Toshiba 904T) allows me to blacklist numbers so they get dumped to busy every time. Yours doesn't have that?

@toddkravos: Depending on what kind of phone you have at home, there should be a blacklist function built in. I know that some Sanyo and Panasonic cordless phones have it. And for cellphones, if you can pick one, pick a Japanese phone. Those generally have such functions built in (they've been dealing with such problems for a while now).

@Ben Popken: Agreed.

I'd ask them for what bank they want the money wired to, then report them to the bank in question, and possibly whatever federal agency it is that regulates banks. (the name currently escapes me)

At here in the US, it is my understanding that banks are very nervous about being implicated in illegal schemes, and what's described in the post sounds like a classic case of extortion.

Hiya Ben, this is Shazzers.*waves*
These people with very heavy accents intimidate people to the point that they become frightened and give them their debit or credit card number, to avoid being picked up and arrested! Some people have been threatened with having their children taken away, others have been told if they do not pay up right now, they will have the sheriff come to their place of employment and have them taken right to jail. There have also been threats of "downloading affidavits" to the FBI charging them with fraud, passing bad checks, etc. You name it, they have said it. Is there anyway to stop these scammers since it's most likely an out of the country operation, I don't know, I can only hope !! Ben, I REALLY wish you much success with this and hope you can somehow nail these criminals to the wall!

My favorite approach is a fog (air) horn to the receiver. I've yet to have someone call back.

Now that we know about this, any Pay Day borrowers out there want to have fun with it? To wit:

Scammer: "Your children will be taken away from you"
Victim: "Kids, get your shoes on!"

Scammer: "The Sheriff's on his way to your house."
Victim: "My brother's coming over? Cool! He owes me $20!"

You get the idea.

I heard this from someone in the comments of another post about telemarketers or whatever scum people are calling us. =)

They said to answer saying "Thank you for calling Bob's Pizza and Abortion, your loss is our sauce." Never had the guts to answer, afraid it would be someone I know.

One of my old friends had this happen to her! She's got horrendous credit and, as such, had taken out a few payday advances.

Well, to make a long story short, she received repeated calls from a "United Processing" company, saying they were collecting for the payday loan place. They basically did the whole "I'm an attorney" fake-out, and then they told her she needed to pay them or they'd send a sherriff to her work.

Luckily, I googled the number (it was based in Florida, I believe) and found that it led to this United Processing thing: a huge scam.

It's creepy, and even though it seems weird, I can really see how people who don't know about this could easily be taken. Especially with repeated calls from supposed lawyers threatening to send cops after you. (Which doesn't make sense any way... criminal prosecution for a *civil* case?)

@Nick1693: I just laughed so hard I spit out my coffee.....aaaahhhh I needed that thank you!

I would sell blood before I'd do a payday loan. Hell, I'd sell a kidney.

I've never had this happen; just the "old debt at my phone number, you must know where these people are/or you are them and are lying" crap. But thanks for the warning. If I know anyone that has done that I will warn them not to give these people any info.

@dmuth:
". whatever federal agency it is that regulates banks."

Uh, I don't mean to be rude, dmuth, but there's no "federal agency" that "regulates banks". That's why we're having the %^*(^ we have today. banks are free to do as they please.

@humphrmi:

This is a great one Humphrmi! If you allow me, I would just change one little thing with the second one about the Sheriff. As soon as they say they're sending the sheriff my answer would be something along the lines of:

My brother the Sheriff is coming over? Oh no, oh God. What am I supposed to do, my Sister the CIA agent is spending few days with me, and she cannot stand our brother!

@humphrmi:

Coming Over?

I don't understand, Uncle Bob is watching TV in my living room.

@Nick1693: Wow. Something about that seems so horrible, but I can't stop giggling.

Always ask for the information to be mailed to you.

The standard for Postal Fraud is low.... oops, it has already been met.

For some strange reason these clowns NEVER will mail something.

i guess this is sort of counts. i use a prepaid/pay as you go cell phone to save money because i hardly use it. when i first activated the phone i got a ton of wrong number calls as well as bill collectors looking for the guy who must have had the phone number i have now. after a few months all of those calls stopped. lately i have started getting nasty calls and voice mails at that number from bill collectors trying to collect on old pay day loans from the guy i used to always get calls for. they never say who they are working for and refuse to believe me when i tell them that i am not the guy they are looking for. i have quit answering any calls from numbers my phone doesn't recognize. after seeing this article i am actually kind of glad they are trying to shake me down rather then the dude who used to have my number because it very well maybe a scam and he might have fallen for it.

@Aisley: @Aisley:

The banking industry is regulated by the Federal Reserve Board and FDIC.

It was the lack of regulation by the SEC of investment banks that were the problem... Goldman, Morgan Stanley have sought to become "banks" with deposits, but in doing so they fall under more federal scrutiny and cannot take on as much risk.

It was considered ironic because in doing so they were exclaiming "regulate me!"

I used to collect debt for US BANK NSF fees which have to do with overdrafted Federally Insured bank accounts they went into the red and of course a low life debtor believes well the bank should just eat that up.

Your best bet is to find the Agency and there number here in the United States and if they are breaking the FDCPA then do something about it.

However if your a low life scum debtor who is mad because people are calling them because your dead beat and can't pay back any money borrowed then I hope there is a nice nasty stain on your credit or if it's a debt resulting form a checking account Check Systems closes any and all Checking accounts and prevents you from opening any others.

"Hanging up
Laughing and hanging up
Saying "Fine, I'll see you in court" and hanging up
Telling them you're recording the call for your attorney. This makes them hang "

You can hang up, depending on the state they will call right back. Laughing and haning up they will call back and make your life hell. Okay if your represented by an attorney give me his number and by law we will talk to him and you'll of course get charged per the house but yeah most dead beats cannot afford a lawyer and if you don't want to give a collector your attornies information by right and law he can call you each and every day

your headline is misspelled: it is "harrassed" not "harrased"...
good article, though, and even better on-point comments.

@Pious_Augustus: Good point, but that has nothing to do with this article. These are scam artists, most likely working from outside the country. They claim they are calling for "US National Bank", not "US Bank". They are calling and harassing about debt that doesn't exist and using scare tactics to get people to give them bank account and credit card numbers. The best thing to do is file a report. Plus, if you know whats going on, then I think its justified to be an asshole right back at them. Blow an air horn into the receiver, make some hysterical jokes in poor taste (the "Bob's Pizza and Abortions" one is great), hell laughing and hanging up is fine too. These are criminals, not legitimate debt collectors. Report them and maybe blow off some steam at their expense, then get on with your life.

And the most important thing, never ever ever use a payday loan service again, its not a good idea.

@Pious_Augustus: @Pious_Augustus: Good point, but that has nothing to do with this article. These are scam artists, most likely working from outside the country. They claim they are calling for "US National Bank", not "US Bank". They are calling and harassing about debt that doesn't exist and using scare tactics to get people to give them bank account and credit card numbers. The best thing to do is file a report. Plus, if you know whats going on, then I think its justified to be an asshole right back at them. Blow an air horn into the receiver, make some hysterical jokes in poor taste (the "Bob's Pizza and Abortions" one is great), hell laughing and hanging up is fine too. These are criminals, not legitimate debt collectors. Report them and maybe blow off some steam at their expense, then get on with your life.

And the most important thing, never ever ever use a payday loan service again, its not a good idea.

Try "harassed"

@ChanningDesomma: People don't much understand the difference in civil vs. criminal law, and they are very afraid of lawyers. (As a lawyer, I try to use this power only for good, but people do get needlessly scared by the idea of "lawyers will eat you".)

@Pious_Augustus: Tell them you are recording the call. Super bonus points if you actually record the call.

@Pious_Augustus: Did you somehow miss the fact that these people are scammers trying to get money that isn't owed to them, not debt collectors collecting legal debts?

@Pious_Augustus:

Errr, if you actually read the article (in fact, if you even just read the title), you'll see that this article isn't about people getting legitimate calls from the collections department at US Bank - it's about some offshore scammers claiming to be 'US National Bank' using scare tactics to try to fraudulently bully people into paying debts they don't owe. It's not the recipients of these calls who are "low life scum", as you so charmingly put it - it's the people making the calls.

@mythago:

No, because depending on the site like for example my state Illionis if your on the other end by law you cannot record me if I am calling to collect on a debt or even a telemarketor. It's against the law and most collectors in states like Illionis will be briefed on that law.

@kmw2:

If a debt has been paid off, what you do is fax the debt to the collection office and be law once it's proven you have paid for the debt they will leave you alone. Believe me a collector doesn't want to waste time when there is no money to be made.

Most of the post is the Topic Creator basically guessing whether or not the third party debt collectors were overseas or not and just like how he was guessing, as was I.

@MsAnthropy:

US National Bank and US Bank are two different banks as you see (I know I have typos there but not many) I have noted my experience as a collector.

Also the majority of the topic creaters post is in fact him guessing who is who. Also US National Bank is a real bank and which I had one time collected for

Gramm'e'r Nazi's getting corrected lol

Ask them where they are located. If they say Smalltown, USA then ask them what their zip code is. If they cant answer right away then they are lying.

@Pious_Augustus:

"Also US National Bank is a real bank"

Really? Could you provide a link to the website of this reputable institution? Or any other information proving that it's legitimate? If they're a real bank, it really sucks for them that all any Google search will pull up is a load of stuff about debt collectors attempting to scam people for money that they don't owe, and about how US National Bank doesn't exist.

I think I would look forward to a call from a scammer a few times a day just to have a different form of entertainment.

If you're stupid enuf to give out your personal data to an unknown person over the fone, or (even worse) to pay off a 'debt' that you don't actually owe, then you deserve what you get. These guys are the agents of economic Darwinism, that's all.

Here's a little hint for dealing with calls you don't like: Hang up. Simple, right?

Economic Darwinism at play. That's all.

@Pious_Augustus:
Whoever briefed you on the law was mistaken, or you misheard. Illinois requires consent; that does not make it illegal to record a call if you tell the other party you're recording it. And that is what Mythago suggested.

But it gets even better. The Illinois Supreme Court has held that as long as it's not the government, it's okay to record a phone call without telling the other party.

Now, if somebody says, "I'm recording this call," you have every right to hang up. If you need to conduct business with them, you would then do it in writing. These scummy scammers won't communicate in writing, and they don't want to be recorded because -- wait for it -- what they're doing is illegal.

I'd expect that your job was difficult and emotionally trying. And I'd further expect that as part of your training you were told about the law, and who's right in these situations, and who is wrong. Very few people could do that kind of work if they weren't encouraged to believe that their methods were not only legal but also moral. It's perfectly human to cling to justifications for our actions.

Why not have some fun with them?? Say sure I'll wire the money right away, just give me all the info I need to send it. BUt never send anything, and if they call back insist you sent the money. Even give them a fake tranfer confirmation number. Better yet, if they call you at home, ask them to call you at work, but give them the number for the local FBI office.