Two payday lending schemes were shut down by federal authorities for taking over $100 million from victims without their permission. The schemes involved buying consumers' financial information and depositing money into their bank accounts to trigger charges of up to $90 every other week. In 15 months, one operation dispensed $97 million in loans but collected over $115 million from consumers. Victims had difficulty stopping the companies from withdrawing money and had to close their accounts. The schemes demonstrated how companies can evade law enforcement through complex business structures.

1. Two payday lending schemes get shut down
My Thoughts About This Article:
Yes payday loans could possibly be "negative" however in fact here is the option that is only for
many people have. Therefore could you have them spend an insane interest-rate or rather the client
move without temperature for that week? From the legislative standpoint they are having not a
problem although for me it's a hard phone. Lawmakers are seeking to crack down on payday
lenders.
Similar schemes that used information collected from people who were seeking payday loans online
and took more than $100 million from those victims were shut down by federal authorities, the
Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said on
Wednesday.
The consumers who were looking for loans, but didn't apply for them, had money drawn from their
bank accounts under the pretext that it was payment for the loans, the agencies said. The CFPB filed
a lawsuit against those allegedly operating one scheme and received a temporary restraining order
halting the operation and freezing its assets, and the FTC did the same.
"These defendants bought consumers' personal information, made unauthorized payday loans, and
then helped themselves to consumers' bank accounts without their authorization," Jessica Rich,
director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. "This egregious misuse of
consumers' financial information has caused significant injury, especially for consumers already
struggling to make ends meet."
The schemes involved buying the victims' financial information from so-called lead generators or
data brokers, and then depositing between $200 and $300 into their bank accounts without the
consumers' permission. That would then trigger a series of charges every other week of up to $90,
the FTC said.
In 15 months, the CFPB said, the operation it shut down dispensed a supposed $97 million in payday
loans and collected more than $115 million from consumers. In the FTC case, the scheme involved
$28 million in supposed loans resulting in more than $46 million taken from consumers in less than a
year.
Victims said they weren't able to get the companies to stop drawing money from their bank accounts
and had to resort to closing the accounts or getting their banks to intervene. Harassment often
followed, the FTC said.
The payday lending company that ran the alleged scheme shut down by the CFPB was called Hydra
Group, with businesses incorporated in New Zealand and St. Kitts and Nevis. "Their maze of
businesses and shell companies seems designed to evade effective law enforcement, and includes
names like SSM Group, Hydra Financial Limited, and Piggycash Online Holdings," CFPB Director
Richard Cordray said in a statement.
The FTC case involved a company called CWB Services and a laundry list of related businesses.
The FTC urges consumers to consider a variety of options, including borrowing from other sources,

2. rather than take a payday loan. These loans allow people typically with poor credit to borrow money
by guaranteeing repayment on payday, and they typically come with extremely high interest rates.
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Final Thoughts:
As you are able to see the news source above says regulators are able to crack the whip on payday
advance lenders. I am wondering what you're ideas are on this?