Cash Advance America Scam! Somehow they gather your peronal information Los Angeles, California

Hi all, I have also fallen prey to this same thing.  After reported a phone call I received from someone with a heavily middle eastern accent claiming to be with the Federal Trade Commission stating I would be arrested if I didn't pay for their lawyers to intercede in a criminal case filed by the fraudulent people, I called the Consumer Financial Protection division of the real FTC.  Gave them all of the background, the first thing they told me to do was ensure I have all necessary protections in place with my bank and the credit bureaus.  Second, they told me to change the phone number that I was being called on.  Since then, I have only received one phone call which was today on my cellphone from someone claiming to be with Cash Advance America saying that I had an approved loan.  I of course have not put in any applications so this was clearly fraud.  All of the numbers trace to YMax Communications numbers, YMAX is the maker of MagicJack.  I just got off a chat with the upper level complaint folks for YMax making them aware of the situation.  My suggestion to anyone receiving these calls is to write down the name and number of the people calling you; if you can get a physical address write that down as well.  Run a free reverse lookup to confirm where the number is coming from.  If it is YMax you can be assured it is fraud.  If it traces to a landline, call the local Chamber of Commerce and Better Business Bureau to confirm the and company are real.  There company information including EIN is public information.  If it is from a law firm, call the state Bar Association the claim to be from.

If the number is YMax, you can go onto YMax Communications website and start a live chat to report the interactions.  They will ask you for the phone number calling you.  Make sure to provide them as much detail as possible.

If the calls persist, you will have to change your phone number.  Thankfully, the only number to date we have had to change is our home landline which is rarely used anyway.

Most important thing to do though is immediately request fraud alert from the credit bureaus and file the complaint with the FTC each time you get a call.  This is what the real FTC told me to do so they can track all of this.

One additonal thing, these people give themselves aware because they all have heavy accents.  These are generally middle eastern in nature, at least those folks that have called me have been.

To whom this may concern,

I can tell you that, under the consumer protection laws, fair credit reporting act and the laws regarding collections calls this:

1. The person you spoke to probably was not with the company that the phone number is listed under (possibly it is an old phone number that has not been updated to reflect the true company name.)

2. The person that called you is supposed to, when asked, tell you what company he/she is from. They do not have to tell you what the call is in regards to.

3. Scare tactics like this are illegal and they violate numerous collection calls laws. ACSO of Texas d/b/a Advance America is very aware of the laws. They do not use third party collections on their accounts. If the account is sold then it will be with a 3rd party vendor and they are not responsible for that vendor's actions.

4. If you have not done business with Advance America and you got a call like this my personal advice would be, get a credit report and do some research on your credit and social security number to clear out any dispuits that you have on that report.