TELEPHONE COLLECTION SCAM

Updated 8/2010

• Receiving harassing telephone collection calls threatening Police or legal action?
• Foreign sounding callers representing themselves as affiliated w/collection, law or government organizations collecting on a long past due payday loan?
• Not aware of owing any debt & they won’t prove it?

Our office in Florence, Kentucky has received inquiries from confused out of state callers (who have never done business with us, who have been receiving collection calls from an organization claiming to be working for us or a company whose name includes the words U.S. Cash or something similar. They mistakenly or fraudulently allege a balance is owed us, and apparently are engaging in illegal collection practices (as allowed under FDCPA; please Google “Fair Debt Collection Practices Act” for more info). Callers report they typically have foreign accents while using tactics such as implying affiliation with legal or government authorities (use words like: Legal Dept., Federal Investigative Authority, Financial Infraction Dept., Cooper Law Firm). They refuse to provide any proof of the underlying debt, and finally demand outrageous payments be made to New York or Florida addresses to avoid legal or police action.

Our legitimate brick-n-mortar payday loan company, doing business face to face only as U.$. Cash Advance here in Florence, Kentucky (a suburb of Cincinnati, OH) does not do business with residents of other states (certain qualified Cincinnati and SE Indiana residents excepted). Nor have we never done loans online or via the telephone. Therefore, no out of state accounts have been placed with any collection outfit by us.

In rare situations, for our local customers whom we serve, we do find it necessary to employ a collection agency or attorney to enforce contractual agreements with our debtors. For the last several years we have only placed accounts with drs Bonded Collection Systems, a collection agency or Mason, Schilling & Mason, a legitimate collection law firm – both located in the Greater Cincinnati area.

Please be advised however, that there are other loan providers online or those who do business via the telephone (fax) with names sounding much like ours. Authorities have apparently received similar complaints of outrageous third party collection efforts regarding them. There are also online brokers who buy listing priorities for key words from internet search engines so that they can grab searches intended for legitimate loan companies so that they then can attempt to sell the lead. Some of these outfits are respectful & legitimate organizations and some are not. We have searched for our name and found fully functioning websites with our name & location listed along with 20 – 30 other local providers. They do not have permission to do this with us and the KY Attorney General’s office has tracked one such website’s registrant to be domiciled in Russia, while operating from servers located in Shanghai. So….buyer beware – always know who your giving information too:

CFCO Financial, Inc. (the corporation who operates the 1 U.$. Cash Advance store in Florence, KY) has filed a victim’s complaint regarding this potential collections scam and the misuse of our company’s good name with the following authorities:

• The Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions;
• The Kentucky Attorney General’s Office Division of Consumer Protection;
• The Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the Better Business Bureau; and
• The Federal Trade Commission.

The FTC advised us that they have received other complaints from individuals & companies like us and are currently conducting an investigation. If you are the recipient of harassing collection calls on a debt you do not know about, it is recommended that you too file a complaint against this third party collection organization with your local authorities, your State’s Attorney General’s Office, and the Federal Trade Commission. If your complaint involves internet phishing or other inappropriate online activities the FBI recommends filing an online abuse complaint via their tracking system at: https://complaint.ic3.gov/ctf.aspx These agencies will need the name, address and phone number of the person or collection organization which is attempting to enforce the fraudulent debt from you. The FTC’s number is (877) 382-4357.

Though we regret these fraudulent collection efforts have involved our company name, we can assure you that CFCO Financial, Inc. dba U.$. Cash Advance in Florence, Kentucky is not involved in anyway.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE FLORENCE STORE – THIS WEBSITE CONTAINS ALL CURRENTLY KNOWN INFORMATION REGARDING THIS MATTER

Sincerely,
Richard G. Porstner, President