Telephone Collection Scam Related to Delinquent Payday Loans

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (ICA), has reported an increase telephone collection scams related to delinquent payday loans.


The typical payday loan scam involves a caller claiming the victim is delinquent on a payday loan and must make payment to avoid legal consequences. Callers pose as representatives of the FBI, Federal Legislative Department, various law firms, or other legitimate-sounding agencies, and claim to be collecting for debt collection companies. The scammer relentlessly calls the victim, and refuses to provide information regarding the alleged loan, and often becomes abusive when questioned.

A new variation of this scam has been popular recently where the caller tells the victim there are outstanding warrants for their arrest for non-payment and hacking into a named business with the intent of obtaining customer information. During the perpetration of this crime, the caller demands payment via debit/credit card; in other cases, the caller further instructs victims to obtain a prepaid card to cover the payment.

If you are contacted by someone who is trying to collect a debt that you do not owe, you should:

• If you have received a legitimate loan and want to verify that you do not have any outstanding obligation, contact the loan company directly;

• Contact your local law enforcement agencies if you feel you are in immediate danger;

• Contact your bank(s) and credit card companies and request an alert be put on your file;

• Report any online fraud to the ICA and BBB

For more consumer tips you can trust, visit http://www.bbb.org/