What's worse than getting a phone call from a payday loan collections agent?

Getting a call from a fake one.

That's the warning today from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office, which has seen a jump in consumer complaints involving bogus collections calls.

The scam appears to target consumers who have taken out a payday loan in the past, and the fraudsters seem to have some personal information about their marks, including their names, Social Security numbers, places of employment and bank account numbers.

Often, the phony collections agent reads the personal information to the consumer and asks them to confirm it is accurate.

That might suggest the bill collectors are the real deal, but they aren't.

Some victims who contacted Madigan's office reported that the collection calls appear to have originated from outside the country.

Other tip-offs that the call is a con are statements suggesting the collections agent is somehow affiliated with a law-enforcement agency or that those being called will be arrested if they don't pay right away.

Madigan's office said the fraudsters are using several company names, including Morgan & Associates; Federal Bureau of Investigators; DNR Recovery; DNI Recovery; Legal Accounts Association; Department of Law and Enforcement; CashNet USA; America Legal Services; Quick Cash; and ACS.

"Although many of these names are fake, some are names of legitimate businesses that the purported debt collectors may be using without permission," Madigan's office said in a press release.