Make These Calls Stop, Frustrated Consumers Complain About Crestwood Loan Advisors

Does this sound familiar?

“Hello, this is Veronica Garcia with the loan department, calling about your loan. We see here that you are pre-approved for a $70,000 loan, and your estimated payment is $400 a month. Press two to speak with a representative. Press nine to be put on our no-call list. Please allow 24-48 hours for your number to be updated.”

These unsolicited, fraudulent calls often use AI-generated voices to falsely promise preapproved loans, aiming to steal personal information, Social Security numbers, or bank details. They often use spoofed or rotating numbers to evade blocking and enforcement.

One of the most active scams right now claims agents from Crestwood Loan Advisors are ready to process the loan the person never applied for. The scam has been reported in multiple states from one coast to the other.

One person who filed a report with the Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker claimed to have received 68 calls and voicemails from “this supposed company” in 24 hours.

The person blocked and reported the numbers, but new calls popped up from other numbers. The calls are likely coming from another country. The fraudster likely obtains phone numbers via automated “trigger leads” from credit inquiries, illegal data brokers, wardialing, and data from deceptive online “loan quote” forms. The scam uses VoIP to bypass regulations and target individuals with unsolicited, high-pressure offers.

51 Missed Calls, 23 Numbers, 7 Minutes

Someone else said in a thread on Reddit about two weeks ago that the scammers have been “super aggressive,” accelerating calls from three to four to multiple times a day, even late at night.

“I just now got 51 missed calls from them from 23 different numbers in the span of seven minutes,” the person said. “It’s driving me crazy because I’m currently job hunting, so I am leaving my phone on vibrate so I can answer the phone if I get a job offer. It just never stops vibrating.”

The fed-up user figured out that the calls came from similar area codes, registered the numbers with the do-not-call registry, and hasn’t answered the phone in a month.

Yet the calls persist. Reporting the numbers on the do-not-call registry hasn’t made a dent.

“It’s starting to feel really hopeless,” the person said.

Crestwood Advisors Defends Its Name

The BBB said that in phishing schemes like this, scammers attempt to deceive their targets by impersonating a trustworthy name.

In this case, that’s Boston-based Crestwood Advisors, a legitimate wealth-management firm consistently ranked among the country’s most respected financial advisers by Forbes, Barron's, and other publications.

The calls have become so relentless that the Connecticut-based company issued a formal alert to clear its name and warn customers not to fall for the scam.

“We are aware of reports involving an unrelated third party using a similar name,” the Connecticut-based firm said. “Crestwood Advisors does not provide loans or use telemarketing services.”

Suspicious calls should be reported to the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and their state attorney general, the company said.

Another person who filed a complaint with the BBB and the FCC warned the caller that they knew it was a scam and had filed reports with regulatory authorities. That didn’t matter. If anything, the volume of calls increased.

“I have used the automated option to be removed from their call list no less than 20 times, and the calls continue. I have used the automated option to speak to a representative to verbally request with an individual to be removed from their call list no less than 20 times, and the calls continue. I block the numbers, and they just call from a different number,” another exasperated person said on Reddit.

Other Reddit commenters said they’ve been targeted in scams before, but never like this.

“I am so aggravated. I use my personal phone for work, and this is really putting a strain on me. It is all day long! If you listen to the message all the way through, it says press nine, and then they say, ‘You have been placed on our do not call list.’ But every time I do that, the calls increase from different numbers,” one person said. “I have never been harassed so much in my entire life!”

‘As If Someone Flipped A Switch’

Crestwood Advisors isn’t alone in having its name misappropriated. Another wealth management firm, Ridgegate Financial in Colorado, reported a similar advance loan fee scam.

“Scammers have hijacked our name — using it to contact the public with fraudulent loan offers. These criminals are damaging our reputation and preying on innocent people,” Ridgegate Financial said on a page listing resources consumers can use to fight the problem.

CEO Wallace Smith told WMAR News in December that it learned of the situation in hundreds of emails from unhappy customers.

“All of a sudden, as if someone had flipped a switch, we started getting rather frustrated or aggressive calls and emails from folks saying, ‘Please stop calling me. I’ve asked you to stop calling me,’” Smith said.

“What they're preying on is trying to get personally identifiable information, including Social Security numbers, from victims. And then the other part of it is, hey, to collect, all you need to do is pay us a little fee upfront to help us out,” Smith said.

The fees are supposedly for processing, insurance, or paperwork, but Smith said legitimate lenders will never guarantee a loan for paying a fee or without conducting a credit check.

Smith has reported the scam to the FBI, FCC, FTC, and his state attorney general. He reminded consumers to be skeptical.

“To say we want to give you $50,000 or $60,000, that just doesn’t happen,” he said. “So please realize that’s too good to be true, and don’t be victimized by it.”

What To Do

There doesn’t appear to be an open investigation regarding Crestwood Loan Advisors, but the FTC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an independent U.S. government agency created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, have taken action against similar debt relief and loan assistance scams.

Experts advise always reporting the scam calls to proper authorities: the FCC, the FTC, the FBI, and state attorneys general.

Don’t engage. Do not provide personal or financial information in response to unsolicited calls. Legitimate lenders don’t call out of the blue with loan approvals.

Use call-blocking tools. Smartphone carriers and apps (for example, built-in spam detection, robocall filters, or third-party blocking apps) can reduce how many scam calls get through.

Don’t return calls. That may confirm to scammers that your number is active.

Monitor your accounts. If you did provide info accidentally, contact your bank and credit bureaus to place fraud alerts or freezes.

Advocates advise keeping the pressure on federal regulatory and law enforcement agencies to crack down on illegal robocall networks and spoofers and say that stopping such calls will require:

• Individual vigilance and reporting,
• Enforcement action by regulators,
• Use of technology and carrier defenses, and
• Continued public awareness.

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