If you have ever had a payday loan, watch out for these scams!

Debt collection scams are all bad.  However, I think that payday loan scams are the worst scams I've ever come across. 

Please know, that it doesn't matter how long ago you may have taken a payday loan, or even if it was completely paid off.  These scammers may still get your information and try to make you believe that you still owe them money. 

According to the state agency in Washington this is how one of the payday loan scammers operate, but many scammers use this same tactic:

* Representatives of a company calling itself Financial Accountability Association make unsolicited telephone calls to consumers at home or at work. The scammers tell consumers that they are being prosecuted for loan fraud, bank fraud or check fraud because they have defaulted on a payday loan
* The scammers claim to be attorneys collecting a debt
* The scammers may threaten the consumer with immediate arrest
* The scammers usually tell consumers that they received a payday loan of several hundred dollars in 2008, they may tell the consumer that the debt has increased to several thousand dollars
* The scammers demand immediate payment of the debt by providing a checking account or credit card number
* If a consumer pays the scammers, they will continue to aggressively contact that consumer for even more money
* These scammers are highly persistent and may make dozens of threatening calls in a short period of time.

If you feel you have been a victim of a loan scam, please contact the Federal Trade Commission at 382-4357 (1-877-FTC HELP). If you are a Pennsylvania Consumer, contact Jeff Suher for a free evaluation of your rights.