POTSDAM – A case of apparent telephone fraud has led village police to remind the public to protect their personal information and be wary of "aggressive and vulgar" loan company representatives.

Thursday, police received a complaint from a woman who said she was being harassed over the phone by a representative from the Pay Day Loans Crime Investigations Unit, who claimed she must pay them money or an arrest warrant would be issued.

The complainant said that, while she has had dealings with Pay Day Loans, she has never missed a payment or fielded any similar demands.

The caller insisted that the complainant issue the payment on debit cards, police said.

A village police officer made contact with the representative but was immediately disconnected when he informed the representative of the police department complaint. Additional calls were answered and immediately disconnected, police report.

"As such, this was believed to be a fraudulent attempt to collect payment on a non-existent loan," police stated.

The police department reports it has begun to receive complaints of this nature with increasing frequency and urges citizens to remain diligent in protecting their personal information, that they may be safe from harassing phone calls to their homes and workplaces.

They ask the public to use extreme caution when relinquishing personal information online or by phone.

In similar complaints fielded by the Potsdam Police Department, loan company representatives have used an aggressive and vulgar manner as a tactic to obtain submission and payment.