Debt Collection Scam Targets West Virginia Payday Loan Customers
There is a new phone scam where phony debt collectors call posing as law enforcement officers, lawyers, bankers and other professionals with authority. The targeted consumer is falsely threatened with arrest for committing bank fraud. They are very intimidating and scare and confuse consumers with legal and financial jargon. The goal of the scam is to get your bank information so you can wire the money you owe so you won’t get arrested.
Payday loan customers are getting a large percentage of the calls because these con-artists target lower income areas where the residents do have debt issues, but the correlation seems mostly coincidental. Payday loans are short term loans or cash advances, usually paid back within 14 days.
The majority of the scams appear to target West Virginia, where payday loans are outlawed. West Virginia Attorney General Darrel McGraw says the debt collectors are scam artists and the debts are not legitimate.
Typically the con artists speak English well, but with a foreign accent and refer to themselves as the “National Bank”, “Federa Legal Processing”, and other names that may sound official, but are completely made up. The callers refuse to give real names or addresses.
So how do you protect yourself? If you receive a hostile, threatening call claiming you owe money and you’ll be arrested bank fraud, stay calm. Police officers don’t make phone calls threatening people, they would show up to your doorstep with a warrant for your arrest.
If the person claims to be a police officer, ask them what police department they are with, their name and badge number. If they refuse, you know right away the call is fake, if you have caller ID. Wrote their phone number down and call your local police and explain what happened and give them your number.
If they claim to be a lawyer or banker ask them for all their information. Get off the phone with them and try to find their information online. If you do find a website, don’t trust it. Scam artists can put up websites too. Instead call the Federal Trade Commission and report the incident.
