ADVANCE AMERICA
Complaint
RUTH ANN
Country: United States
On October 25, 2013, I received a call from a Mr. Frank Cassidy from Advance America, saying I was approved for a $5000.00 loan. Everything looked and sounded real. I got a contract sent to my e-mail, printed it out, and looked okay. Then the scam started. I was told to wire $700.00 via Western Union to a Beverly Ervin, like a fool, I wired the money. Frank Cassidy called me back, telling me the $5758.00 was wired into my bank account (5000.00 loan, $700.00 the money I wired, and $58.00 the cost to wire the $700.00 to Beverly Ervin, in Portlage, PA). I called my bank, no money!!!!! I convinced myself, the money would be in my bank account on Monday, 10/28. I called my bank Monday morning, no money!!! The bank hooked me up to the money wire department, still, no money. I tried calling Frank Cassidy, no answer. Finally, Tuesday, 10/29, I finally got him on the phone. Now, he tells me: "My credit score is not at 800, I need to send in (wire) another $595.00 so he can get my credit score up to 800." He said: "My bank would not accept the transfer because of my credit." I told Frank Cassidy, I don't have any money. I sent him my last $700.00, and that was 1/2 of my rent money. Yesterday, 11/6/2013, I called Frank Cassidy again. This time I called him out about being a scammer. I told him I notified the FBI, which I did. He got nasty with me, telling me I have to send more money, to have my $758.00 (my own money!) after arguing with him, he told me he would return my money, $758.00, by money order. Now, another excuse!!! Now, I have to wire more money, to get my own money back!!!!! Well, I let Frank Cassidy know, that he has been busted. I know he is a scammer!!!! I notified the FBI in Burbank California
Comments
Note how they tried to con you out of a second payment. This is common with this type of scam.
Not sure how you contacted them, or how they found out about you, but other complaints are consistent with victims entering information on fake or sleazy "payday loan" websites. If you did that, you should also beware of fake "debt collectors" who will call and threaten you, demanding payment for a fake "payday loan"l. You are now labeled a sucker, so don't fall for any more cons.
Currently, most complaints of this scam are reporting Indian accents, consistent with overseas Indian swindlers, although there are also US based fraudulent "loan" scammers running the same con.
Any accents?
Names and "company name" are all phony, as is any "address".
Google finds nothing at that address, so its probably totally unconnected with any significant "business", maybe even just made up after finding the steet in the internet.
"Advance America" is typical of the generic "company" names used in these scams. Similar names show up connected to the fake "collections" scams as well. Overseas scammers commonly use US addresses they find on the internet, and make up "American" names that sound like they are out of a comic book. They know that sounding like they are foreign works against them, so they pack their names with "Americanness".
When you wire money by Western Union, it doesn't matter who it is to or where, they can pick it up anywhere in the world. That's why Western Union, Moneygram, and prepaid debit cards are the favorite money transfer methods of swindlers the world over.