Don't Fall for Payday Loan Scams!

Has anyone ever called you, saying he was a lawyer and that you could be arrested if you don't immediately pay everything you owe on a payday loan? The caller may say he is from the Financial Accountability Association or the Federal Legislation of Unsecured Loans. He may only accept a credit card payment, and he may not allow you to make payments on your "debt." The call may seem legitimate, because he may know your old bank account numbers. He may know your driver's license number, even your Social Security number. Nevertheless, don't be deceived. If anybody ever calls you saying any of these things, whether or not all the details are exactly as described in this article, he is involved in an illegal payday loan scam, and he is out to steal your money! Don't fall for it. (In fact a relative of the author almost did fall for just such a scam, and the author almost paid the "debt," before discovering the scam in time and canceling the credit card payment.)

Actually, according to the Fair Debt Collections Act, as reported on ftc.gov, any debt collector may not falsely claim to be an attorney, claim to represent the United States government or any state government, cannot threaten to take legal action which may not be taken (including having you put in jail. That cannot be done.), falsely claim you have committed a crime, repeatedly call you to harass you, or threaten to harm you physically. Actually no law allows you to be arrested for not repaying a payday or any loan.

The Better Business Bureau says there is just a current ongoing scam in which phony bill collectors call people to tell them they have not repaid a payday loan. The person calling may say the amount owed is up to $1,000. He may say you can be arrested if you don't immediately pay the bill. He may demand bank account or credit card information. Don't fall for the scam! What may make the scam even more believable is the caller may know where you work. He may even know the names of professional colleagues.

From the personal experience of this author, the caller may say he is from a different company than the one listed in this article. The amount he says is owed may be different than the amount actually borrowed. He may say the extra money is for various "fees." In fact, some payday loan companies at least sometimes sell some of their unresolved debts to debt collectors, and at least some of those debt collectors take payments--without demanding immediate payments.

In fact, if someone does try to pull just such a payday loan scam on you, the website, consumer-law.lawyers.com, suggests you ask the caller to send you the loan information in writing. You also should never verify bank information, credit card information, or any information over the phone. You should report any such scams, harassment, or threats to the Federal Trade Commission, the agency that enforces the Fair Debt Collections Act. You should also file an online complaint with the Better Business Bureau. That will help others know about the scam. It would also be good to contact your state attorney general's office to find out about local laws.

In fact someone may even try to pull a payday loan scam on you, even if you never took out a payday loan, according to the website, consumerfraudreporting.org. In addition to some of the other suggestions made on the consumer-law website, this website also suggests you contact the FBI, if someone has tried to pull such a scam on you.

There are people out there who are plotting to scam you out of as much of your money as possible. If you know about payday loan scams, however, you are less likely to be a victim.

Citations:

Scam Alert: Fake Payday Loan Collectors, no author listed, Consumer-law.lawyers.com

Fair Debt Collections Act, no author listed, Ftc.gov

Payday Loan, no author listed,Consumerfraudreporting.org