If there's one truism about people falling upon hard times, it's that there are other people ready and willing to make their times even harder in order to reap a profit for themselves.

Take the case of payday borrowers, who have to be in pretty dire straits to resort to a payday loan in the first place. Though payday lenders in general tend to generate complaints to the Bureau, many (at least 80 to date, most since early May) payday borrowers are complaining about Crime Monitoring Division (CMD) and the several other names it uses in particular. The company has offices in Anaheim and Los Angeles. Complainants from all over the country report that they receive phone calls from them, often at work or on their cell phone, telling them they owe money for a payday loan they made previously but never repaid.

Some complainants admit that they owe a payday loan debt, others don't remember any such outstanding debt but acknowledge that they take out payday loans from time to time, and still others deny ever incurring the debt. Just the same, the caller, it seems, has personal information about them including their work telephone number, social security number and bank account number. Complainants are at a loss to explain how the caller came by that information, although one believes it was obtained from information she submitted when she requested an internet loan, even though she was denied the loan.

Repayment demands can be as high as $6,000. An Arkansas borrower says CMD called him at work, threatening him unless he sent repayment of a $200 loan that had swelled to over $800 after “penalties.”

This complainant says he does use a cash advance company “because times are hard . . . to make ends meet.” He agreed to pay the debt, giving the caller his credit card number. Now, he says, “I have a family to feed . . . I have no food and cannot get food stamps because I work . . .”

A thick Middle Eastern accent is a characteristic complainant after complainant relates about the callers, even though there are many of them and they identify themselves by such names as Jack Dawson, Steven Jones, and John Lee.

At least as far as the California “debtors” are concerned, callers seem to be unaware of or willing to flout laws relating to payday loans and debt collection. For one thing, the company ignores caller requests not to call them at work. Indeed, one complainant reports being advised by her human resources department that CMD's calls are considered to be “'personal calls'” that could eventually cost her her job.

Threats, too, are commonplace. A Mississippi single mother of three says she received CMD's threats that she would go to jail and her kids would be taken from her if she didn't pay the $6,000 they demanded. CMD debited her bank account until she closed it, but by then she'd incurred $600 in bank fees.

Though California law prohibits both criminal prosecution for borrowers who default in payday loans and threats and abusive or obscene language by debt collectors, California complainants report violations of these provisions. Specifically, one complainant was told she could go to prison for violating financial laws. Another says the caller “yells and screams that I know where the debt came from, and if I do not pay them, my life will be miserable.” Another was told that Monday would be a “black day” for her family. Still another was asked if she'd prefer to be arrested at home or at work.

Some say CMD calls up to 15 times a day but refuses to provide them information about their alleged debt and other information California law requires. Still, some pay anyway. Others simply disregard the calls and threats.

California law allows payday lenders to require an applicant's social security number. Nevertheless, those who deal with online lenders take on extra risk when they provide it. And taking action against either an online payday lender or a collection agency that violates the law can be almost impossible.

Crime Monitoring Division's name alone doesn't give an accurate picture of its business. Rather, it seems to imply that they're watching out for you or for the community in some way. But those who've experienced CMD's tactics would likely agree that removing its middle name would be more descriptive of its practices.