Consumer Alert
USA Payday Loans

Also Doing Business As:

• USA Payday Loans Limited
• USAPaydayLoans Limited
• Payday Loans-Seattle

Advance Fee Loan Scam

February 14, 2014

Several consumers report being targeted by what appear to be advance fee loan scams. These apparent scams use variations of the name “USA Payday Loans.” One Washington State consumer reports that he received a phone call from a man who claimed to work for USA Payday Loans. The caller offered the consumer a $3,000 loan if he first paid a fee via prepaid card. After the consumer paid the fee, various representatives of USA Payday Loans demanded additional fees. In total, the consumer paid $1,102 in fees and did not receive the loan.

In the consumer’s interaction with USA Payday Loans, he spoke with men who identified themselves as Victor Moore, Terrence O’Neill, and Neil Thomas. The consumer also received an e-mail from USApayday_loans@yahoo.com. The e-mail stated that USA Payday Loans’ license number is 1651 362 983 and the company’s address is 1368 5th Avenue, Seattle, Washington. However, the license number is not one issued by the DFI and the address does not appear to exist.

The following contact information is associated with these apparent scams:

206-855-3055 – USApayday_loans@yahoo.com
209-690-7494 – http://www.paydayloans-seattle.com
206-971-2831 – 1368 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA

DFI received phone records from the company providing phone service to USA Payday Loans. Those records suggest that the individuals operating USA Payday Loans are in India.

USA Payday Loans is not licensed by DFI to provide loans. It is also not licensed to do any kind of business in Washington State.
Verify License

DFI strongly recommends that consumers deal only with those lenders that are properly licensed to conduct business. Consumers can determine whether lenders are properly licensed using the “Verify a License” feature on the DFI’s website at http://www.dfi.wa.gov/consumers/findcompany.htm.
Report Fraud

Washington State residents, if you are suspicious of unlicensed activity by a payday lender please contact the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions at 1-877-RING-DFI (746-4334), or online at http://www.dfi.wa.gov.

If you live in another state, find your state regulator.

If you feel you have been the victim of a loan scam please contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357) or online at http://www.ftc.gov; or contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (855) 411-CFPB or online at http://www.consumerfinance.gov. Because the scammers have access to bank account information and social security numbers, victims should consider themselves victims of identity theft and take appropriate precautions. The Federal Trade Commission has information for victims of identity theft available online at http://www.ftc.gov.

If you feel you have been the victim of a loan scam involving the Internet please contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center online at http://www.ic3.gov.

If you feel you have been the victim of a loan scam and are concerned about your personal financial information, contact your banking institution, and the three major credit bureaus.

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