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If you have ever applied for an online payday loan you may be targeted as a victim in a malicious phone and email scam.
The scammers will either call you on the phone or email you pretending to be from a law firm or “investigative unit”.  They will tell you that you owe an outstanding payday loan and they need payment immediately or else they will turn the matter over to local law enforcement to press criminal charges against you.  The scammers are betting that you have more than one payday loan and that you don’t remember the names of the companies you legitimately owe.  Don’t be fooled!  Here are some tips to identify the scam and what to do to protect yourself.
THE CALL/EMAIL MIGHT BE A SCAM IF:
1.  They claim to be representing a creditor you don’t recognize or a law firm you don’t recognize.  Don’t assume that they are telling the truth when they say they are calling from a law firm.  Try Googling the lawfirm to see if it even exists.
2.  They demand payment over the phone immediately and refuse to send you a bill in the mail.  No legitimate creditor will demand payment over the phone.
3.  They use official sounding words in emails that are otherwise just gobble-de-gook.  Oftentimes, these are foreign based scam artists who have no English language knowledge so their emails end up full of grammatical and spelling errors.  Take this sentence as an example:  “As we were trying to reach you since a couple of days regarding a very serious matter about a lawsuit filed on your name stating that you are doing some fraud and Civil litigations.”   Look for words like “investigative”, “government”, “fraud” or “criminal”.
4.  Beware of local numbers on your caller ID from a caller identifying themselves as from a law firm.  Scammers often buy local numbers to trick you into answering the phone.  Just recently, one of my clients got a phone call from a “law firm” and the number on the caller ID was from a local town that maybe had one stoplight  – but, certainly no law firms.
5.  They will lie to you!  Here are some good ones:  “We are sending a Sheriff to your home”, “You won’t be able to see your kids again”, “We are filing criminal charges against you”.  You can’t go to jail for a bad debt. Furthermore, these guys don’t even operate in the United States so they don’t have any jurisdiction over you.
TWO SIMPLE THINGS TO DO IF YOU GET A SUSPICIOUS CALL OR EMAIL
1.  Demand a bill in writing.  A legitimate creditor should be able to provide you with a written statement.
2.  Don’t ever give anyone your debit card or bank information over the phone.  Period.  Don’t be bullied into thinking that you will go to jail if you don’t pay – NO MATTER HOW NASTY THE CALL OR EMAIL IS.  Remember, you can’t go to jail for a payday loan debt.
 

Federal Law It is true that the federal bankruptcy laws apply to every American in each state. However, there is a local flavor to filing bankruptcy depending upon which state you live in and in which County that you live in. For this reason, when considering bankruptcy, you want to find a bankruptcy law firm+ Read More
The post Although It’s Federal Law, Filing Bankruptcy Is Truly Local appeared first on David M. Siegel.

Probably one of the most frequent problems I encounter with new cases clients bring to my office is the lack of documentary evidence.

No one bothers to put down in writing that agreement with the brother-in-law or "friend" about the business they were starting together, the house one was going to buy (by signing on the mortgage) and which the other was going to "own" (by going on the title) and paying the mortgage, the investment they were going to make together, or any other manner of legal arrangements.

Then, when things "go south" and the "owner" does not pay the mortgage or the business fails (or even prospers, in which case you will see fights over profits), the differences in each person's understanding of what was agreed becomes painfully obvious.

But what's worse is that the prospective client has nothing in writing to back up his side of the story. It becomes a "he said / she said" dispute hard to win in court. Convincing a judge or jury of the rightness of your position is now just a coin flip.

Personal injury attorney Paul Samakow discusses this problem well in a recent article. I commend it to you:

Good day my friends.

Hope you will read my latest article. Last week I advised that I was running for President. So far, no contributions. No problem, I still love you.
This week's article is a compilation of really interesting "family law" matters across the country, including Sophia Vergara, shooting your mother-in-law, Burger King paying for a wedding and more.

Leading Edge Legal Advice For Everyday Matters

My advice for this week is seemingly common sense, but very important. If ever, whenever, you find yourself embroiled in any controversy that could elevate to hiring an attorney and having a lawsuit filed, the single most important thing you can do to prepare is simply that: Prepare. Be aware of potential problems.

A neighborhood disagreement that doesn't resolve.

A vehicle repair that is taking too long and isn't being resolved or a consumer product a retailer isn't fixing or replacing.

Any time you borrow or loan money.

Anything involving a landlord.

ANYTHING involving the police.

Anything involving a credit card.

Preparing means keeping notes. Document everything. Document conversations. Communicate via email and save the emails, and print them out and put them in a file.

Get witnesses to write statements that are signed and dated.

There is nothing worse than being right and not being able to prove it. The requirement to "win" in a court of law is that the party seeking relief must have at least "a preponderance" of the evidence; that means at least 51%.

If a case boils down to my word vs. yours, I lose, not because I "lose" but because I didn't have the evidence, or the proof, to "win." A judge cannot arbitrarily pick one side or the other in a dispute.

Written documentation will carry the day. The documents do not have to be notarized. They do not have to be perfectly written. They just need to exist and be credible.

Have a good week... Paul

Virginia & Maryland Injury Claims
703-761-4343 or 301-949-1515

Paul is absolutely on target. I remember representing a client a few years ago whose bank account had been drained by a "friend" to whom he had given signature authority to pay his bills while he was out of the country. She helped herself to all his money. When he sued her to get his money back, about $30,000, she filed bankruptcy as soon as he got a judgment against her claiming he had made a loan to her.

Fortunately, when they went to the bank to give her signature authority, he had had her sign a simple three line agreement stating that she would be "on" the account, but that the money "belonged" to him.

They did not use legal terminology, but it was clear that they had intended a "trust" in which he as the "beneficiary" for whose benefit the money was to be spent, and she was a "trustee" with power only to use it on his behalf -- not spend it on herself.

The writing was sufficient to convince the judge what she did was an illegal "breach of fiduciary duty" and stopped the discharge of her debt to him.

"Put it in writing," as they say. Even it's merely a note or a letter to the other side to acknowledge your understanding of the deal. (Of course it's better to have documentation drafted by a lawyer, but something is better than nothing.)

This is good advice. All of us lawyers endorse it. Keep it in mind.

Probably one of the most frequent problems I encounter with new cases clients bring to my office is the lack of documentary evidence.
No one bothers to put down in writing that agreement with the brother-in-law or “friend” about the business they were starting together, the house one was going to buy (by signing on the mortgage) and which the other was going to “own” (by going on the title) and paying the mortgage, the investment they were going to make together, or any other manner of legal arrangements.
Then, when things “go south” and the “owner” does not pay the mortgage or the business fails (or even prospers, in which case you will see fights over profits), the differences in each person’s understanding of what was agreed becomes painfully obvious.
But what’s worse is that the prospective client has nothing in writing to back up his side of the story. It becomes a “he said / she said” dispute hard to win in court. Convincing a judge or jury of the rightness of your position is now just a coin flip.
Personal injury attorney Paul Samakow discusses this problem well in a recent article. I commend it to you:

Good day my friends.
Hope you will read my latest article. Last week I advised that I was running for President. So far, no contributions. No problem, I still love you.
This week’s article is a compilation of really interesting “family law” matters across the country, including Sophia Vergara, shooting your mother-in-law, Burger King paying for a wedding and more.
Leading Edge Legal Advice For Everyday Matters
My advice for this week is seemingly common sense, but very important. If ever, whenever, you find yourself embroiled in any controversy that could elevate to hiring an attorney and having a lawsuit filed, the single most important thing you can do to prepare is simply that: Prepare. Be aware of potential problems.
A neighborhood disagreement that doesn’t resolve.
A vehicle repair that is taking too long and isn’t being resolved or a consumer product a retailer isn’t fixing or replacing.
Any time you borrow or loan money.
Anything involving a landlord.
ANYTHING involving the police.
Anything involving a credit card.
Preparing means keeping notes. Document everything. Document conversations. Communicate via email and save the emails, and print them out and put them in a file.
Get witnesses to write statements that are signed and dated.
There is nothing worse than being right and not being able to prove it. The requirement to “win” in a court of law is that the party seeking relief must have at least “a preponderance” of the evidence; that means at least 51%.
If a case boils down to my word vs. yours, I lose, not because I “lose” but because I didn’t have the evidence, or the proof, to “win.” A judge cannot arbitrarily pick one side or the other in a dispute.
Written documentation will carry the day. The documents do not have to be notarized. They do not have to be perfectly written. They just need to exist and be credible.
Have a good week… Paul
Virginia & Maryland Injury Claims 703-761-4343 or 301-949-1515

Paul is absolutely on target. I remember representing a client a few years ago whose bank account had been drained by a “friend” to whom he had given signature authority to pay his bills while he was out of the country. She helped herself to all his money. When he sued her to get his money back, about $30,000, she filed bankruptcy as soon as he got a judgment against her claiming he had made a loan to her.
Fortunately, when they went to the bank to give her signature authority, he had had her sign a simple three line agreement stating that she would be “on” the account, but that the money “belonged” to him.
They did not use legal terminology, but it was clear that they had intended a “trust” in which he as the “beneficiary” for whose benefit the money was to be spent, and she was a “trustee” with power only to use it on his behalf — not spend it on herself.
The writing was sufficient to convince the judge what she did was an illegal “breach of fiduciary duty” and stopped the discharge of her debt to him.
“Put it in writing,” as they say. Even it’s merely a note or a letter to the other side to acknowledge your understanding of the deal. (Of course it’s better to have documentation drafted by a lawyer, but something is better than nothing.)
This is good advice. All of us lawyers endorse it. Keep it in mind.