YMAX Communications = Magic Jack

This is a Magic Jack number.

Stating they are the Department of Legal Affairs the LAw Enforcement action... 202-506-9626... Scam after researching the number it is a land line calling themselves YMAX Communications Corporation DC... Filed a police report.. Huge huge scam... I have a message on my answering machine that this is who they are stating to be?

They are at it again!!!  This time posing as Officer Mike Johnson!!! He stated that we had fraudulent charges against us with the IRS and the IRS had sent us three letters that we did not respond to.  They wanted money wired to them asap or there would be an arrest and passports would be taken.  They said this was a warning call to let us know the cops would be at our door in 30 minutes to make an arrest. If we paid the money they would stop the cops from arresting us. As we asked more questions we realized these guys are the ones that are frauds and THEY should be arrested!!!!! They are using a majicjack and are praying on the vulnerable and elderly.  SCUM OF THE EARTH.  They have even tried to call back again and left a message using the name Officer Williams. I think they are trying to make another call to back up the information they gave us in their first call.

I got a call today from Special Agent William Rice threatening me with jail for ordering drugs over the Internet. When I told him I had no idea what he was talking about, He told me I could plead no contest and pay a fine. When I told him I would have my brother call him (who is an attorney) we were conveniently disconnected!

I checked the carrier information on the phone numbers.  They're all VOIP (internet) calls using YMAX also known as MagicJack. The DEA doesn't use MagicJack. They have, um, reliable landlines and cells.  But international scammers do use MagicJack. Why?

The guy gets US numbers and a MagicJack and can call for free from anywhere in the world.  So he works his scam in the safety of the Dominican Republic, calling on his MagicJack, pretending he's in the US. That's why the sound is often kind of crappy or weird.

International Scammers using MagicJack or other VOIP

Let me Google that for you:

http://bit.ly/19olnQE

Female left message calming she is with Texas Police department and she is asking to call 2022415084 DAVID COPPER for more info. is any one experiencing the same

I also received a call from this number 202- 241-2559 and was told that I won 3.5 million dollars and that he was with the FBI and that he had a check for me but I had to get a government card and put $200.00 on it and he would till me who to call with the number on the card. And I told no way would I do that. So be ware if your phone rings with this number on it Don't Answer It ! !

Hi every one will I also got a call from the same number and I was told that  he was owen  from the F.B.I and he had a check for 3.5 million dollars and  that I had to get a government card for $200.00. I told him that I didn't have that kind of money. So I hung up on him . So If I see that number again I won't answer the phone So look out for this number 2022412559 its out to Get You.

Hi Ever one I also got a call form  this phone number and was told that I had won 3.5 million dollars. And I had to get a card and put 200.00 on it . And I told to go to hell. And I wasn't going to do that. So If this number shows  up on your phone don't answer  it.

Beware folks with phone # 2022414978. He calls himself officer John and will tell you calling from internal revenue criminal investigation. He will tell you that you have criminal litigation and did fraud with internal revenue. You own $2700 and not paid today arrest warrant will get issued. Anyway watch for this number and report to IRS ASAP.

I received the same threat from a DEA officer named "special agent Marchez".  His number was (202)506-9589.  I think they use information from on-line pharmacies.

Got the same call this morning, I thought I was going to faint it was so scary.  When he told me that an international attorney would be appointed for me I hung up.  No call back yet.  I will not answer any calls from 202 area code and I thank you for sharing your story - now I can breathe again.

got acall from 202-503-9909  same story from a federal agent no message this time but few months back called and scared the crap out of me

I called this number 202 239 2860 who had called me and he said his name was Jason Hill of the Drug Enforcement Agency in DC and I asked him what kind of scam was this and he just said I have the wrong number and he hung up on me.  After several attempts again, they won't answer.  I actually emailed the real DEA in DC to give them the number of these criminals.  Don't know if they even care but I'm trying to do something.  I'd really like to get my hands around their throats or maybe do some of my own water-boarding.  Is it 13 loops in a noose?  Our country has problems but nobody from local law enforcement to US Senators can or will do anything about it, believe I've tried.

I had a call today for the same thing. I called the DEA and spoke to an operater that said this is a scam and they are aware of this.

nOW I JUST GOT A PHONE CALL FROM pETER fRANCO THE da OF WASHINGTON & HE TOLD ME  HE WAS SENDING THE POLICE TO MY HOME I TOLD HIM  THAT I CALLED THE POLICE & REPORTED THEM THAT THEY ARE SCAMMERS & ARE ALL OVER THE INTERNET, TO STOP CALLING MY HOME ! FROM THE SAME NUMBER ! FRIGGIN PEOPLE

I too just got a call from specail agent william wright or rice , he tol me if i didnt send hom 1,850 in an hour that i could go to court jan 11 ,& can spend up to 90 days in jail, he wanted me to send it  to the domincan republic,to a man named ,officer randy Olivo, gave me the address  1600  george washington ave, the dominican republic, because i ordered diet drugs illegally,thank god for the ladies at the weatern union office  told me about this scam i even talked to a customer service rep at western union, they told me it was a scam, &  then he wanted me to go to staples to get my court papers, why go there when i can have them sent to my home , geese what a friggin scare!! im so glad the ladies from the western union office pulled up this place here to show me it was a scam or i would be out of 1,850 right now , his number is -1-202-241-8927, im  im going to report this to my local police  thank you all for posting this on here

This caller identified himself as a DEA agent, informed me that was to be arrested for obtaining RX medication without a prescription from the Dominican Republic. When I asked him for credentials and his business with me , he hung up.

FDA NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Jan. 7, 2011

Media Inquiries: Christopher Kelly, 301-796-4676 christopher.kelly@fda.hhs.gov

Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning the public about criminals posing as FDA special agents and other law enforcement personnel as part of a continued  international extortion scam.

The criminals call the victims -- who in most cases previously purchased drugs over the Internet or via "telepharmacies" -- and identify themselves as FDA special agents or other law enforcement officials. The criminals inform the victims that purchasing drugs over the Internet or the telephone is illegal, and that law enforcement action will be pursued unless a fine or fee ranging from $100 to $250,000 is paid. Victims often also have fraudulent transactions placed against their credit cards.

The criminals always request the money be sent by wire transfer to a designated location, usually in the Dominican Republic. If victims refuse to send money, they are often threatened with a search of their property, arrest, deportation, physical harm and/or incarceration.

"Impersonating an FDA official is a violation of federal law," said Dara Corrigan, the FDA?s associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. ?FDA special agents and other law enforcement officials are not authorized to impose or collect criminal fines. Only a court can take such action.?

In most instances, victims of extortion-related calls have also received telephone solicitations for additional pharmaceutical purchases from other possibly related, illegal entities located overseas. The extortionists use customer lists complete with extensive personal information provided through previous purchase transactions. These include names, addresses, telephone numbers, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, purchase histories and credit card account numbers.

Typically, these criminals use telephone numbers that change constantly and make it appear as though their calls originate in the United States.

No known victim has been approached in person by a law enforcement impersonator associated with this scheme.  

The FDA?s Office of Criminal Investigations, with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, with the support of various U.S. Attorneys, are pursuing multiple national and international criminal investigations.

Arrests have been made and additional prosecutions are pending; however, the scheme is likely to continue. The FDA has issued similar warnings in the past:

§  FDA Warns Public of Extortion Scam by FDA Impersonators1 (11/12/2008)

§  FDA Warns Public of Continued Extortion Scam by FDA Impersonators2 (12/29/2009)

Victims of this scheme who have suffered monetary loss through the payment of funds in response to an extortion call from a person purporting to be an FDA or other law enforcement official regarding illegal pharmaceutical transactions may obtain a victim questionnaire by contacting the FDA?s Office of Criminal Investigations3 and clicking ?Report Suspected Criminal Activity.?

Anyone receiving a purported official document on agency letterhead may verify its authenticity by contacting that organization directly via a publicly available phone number. Additionally, all federal agencies use email addresses with a ?gov? email extension.

The FDA also reminds consumers that pharmaceutical products offered online and by telephone by sources of unknown origin can pose a substantial health risk. Products recovered during this investigation that were purchased from online or telephone sources have been found to contain trace amounts of heroin, other undisclosed and potentially harmful active pharmaceutical ingredients, or no active ingredient at all. Purchases should only be made from licensed pharmacies located in the United States. In addition to the increased risk of purchasing unsafe and ineffective drugs from Web sites operating outside the law, personal data may be compromised.

For more on unlawful drug sales on the Internet, see Protecting Yourself4.

Questions and Answers
How did these people obtain my information?

They likely obtained the victim?s information based on a previous online or telepharmacy transaction, or from a submitted medical questionnaire. These instances could have occurred years ago, with personal information now on customer lists trafficked by these criminal groups.  These customer lists can contain tens of thousands of names and a substantial amount of self-reported data provided by consumers during previous transactions.  Typically, victims are being contacted by multiple unrelated groups, often for different purposes. (extortion, selling illegal pharmaceuticals, etc.)

How do I make the calls stop?

The extorters, just like the majority of telephone solicitors for illegal prescription medication, are based overseas and use voice over internet protocol (VOIP) telephone numbers, most commonly ?Magic Jack?.  These services provide the extorters with the flexibility to constantly change their phone numbers and select ones with U.S. area codes.  If the victims  change whatever number(s) were used to contact them, and do not engage in any additional risky pharmaceutical transactions, the threatening phone calls and associated telephone solicitations for pharmaceuticals should cease.

What proactive steps can victims take?

Individuals who purchase medication online or via tele-pharmacies are frequently victims of credit card fraud, since this is how the medication is often purchased.  Victims may want to consider alerting their applicable financial institutions to ensure that identity theft has not occurred.

Why is FDA only asking victims who have lost money to contact the agency?The most effective way to track these criminals is to investigate the permanent record established when money transfers take place.

Have individuals been arrested?

Yes.  However, this scheme will likely not be eradicated and instead will continue to evolve.  For example, the extorters now occasionally reference other countries, such as Costa Rica, instead of the DR, as means to avoid all of the publicity regarding this scheme.

Am I going to be able to get my money back?

In almost all instances victims will not be able to recoup losses.  Multiple criminal groups employ this scheme, principally from overseas, and large monetary seizures are not anticipated.

Am I in danger?

In terms of physical danger, no victim has ever been approached in person, and the vast majority of these callers, regardless of their intent, are based overseas.  Their use of ?police-type scanners?, law enforcement language and fictitious documents are attempts at a false sense of legitimacy. Extorters also occasionally reference cars parked on a victim?s street -- information that can be obtained online at various Web sites, as a way to frighten individuals into believing the extorters are near their residence.  If an individual feels threatened for his or her personal safety, immediately contact the appropriate local enforcement agency.

Is it possible that these callers are part of some ?secret? investigative group, and FDA is just not aware of it?

No.  Law enforcement officials from both the U.S. and the Dominican Republic are pursuing these criminals.   More information regarding this scheme is available on FDA and DEA Web sites, or through online searches.  Extradition proceedings  between countries require close cooperation and often a formal treaty, and this often takes an extended period of time to complete.

http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/CriminalInvestigations/ucm239309.htm

I received a call this morning from Special Agent William Rice- 202- 241-8927 claiming that I was being investigated for ordering meds online which came from the Dominican Republic. $1800 was my "fee" which once paid Immediately would get a waiver issued from the Attorney General. When I questioned the authenticity of the call he got huffy, and I told him I'd pay it. He gave very explicit instructions to send a Western Union payment to a Ms. Gomez at a federal building in the D.R.  He followed up and I put my friend otp with him claiming to be my attorney and demanding official paperwork be sent to us to validate his claims. He hung up!

This happened to me over a year ago.   I am so disappointed that this continues to happen.   This SOB Rice/whatever his name is called me and it was during the time my mother was going through chemo.   I didn't have the money to pay them and my poor mother, weakened from the chemo, went to the bank with me to get the 3500 they asked for.   She was so upset and scared I would be arrested.  I am so thankful I called a friend in law enforcement and he called them.  He knew it was a scam immediately as he knew the real DEA doesn't have lieutenants.  

My mother has since passed and when I think about the distress they caused to her it makes me so angry.   Please, to all victims, let's not rest until we aggravate enough government agencies that they find a way to stop these horrible men.  Also we have to keep calling Magic Jack, Western Union, Chase and MAKE THEM DO SOMETHING ABOUT THESE CRIMINALS.   They are evidently making a good living off this scam.  

PLEASE JOIN ME IN CALLING THESE NUMBERS AND KEEPING THESE SOBs SO BUSY WITH OUR CALLS THAT THEY CANNOT VICTIMIZE OTHERS!    IT IS MY MISSION IN LIFE TO STALK THEM UNMERCIFULLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    JOIN ME PLEASE!   CAN U IMAGINE IF EVERYBODY THEY HAVE VICTIMIZED BANDED TOGETHER AND CALLED THEM EVERY DAY???????????????       LET'S DO IT!     HELP ME TO GIVE THEM  BACK A LITTLE MISERY!   THAT'S ABOUT ALL WE CAN DO RIGHT NOW!

Agent William Rice got a hold of me & said if I didn't pay $1,500 to the Domincan Republic that I would be going to jail for having supposedly purchases drug in 2007-2008.

is this message meant for me?  if so, paying a fine makes it even? how so?  you invaded my privacy. y is it so hard for you to pick up ur phone and tell me direfctly y u did all of this.

stop ignoring me and tell me what ur intention was.

Agent Rice called me several times. He said I would spend a minimum of 3-6 months in Jail if I did not pay the fine of $3500 to the  Head Attorny of The Dominican Republic for ordering Drugs from Overseas.
I did not know what the hell he was talking about but he seemed to know quite a bit about me and the fact that if I did not comply immediatly Federal Marshalls would come to my place of work, handcuff me, and put me on a plane to Santa Domingo . He said that he checked me out and I had a clean record otherwise he would not have even bothered to take the time to consider other options, but just send Federal Marshalls to arrest me right away. "How would you like it if I sent Federal Marshalls to your home or place of work and you are led away in handcuffs in front of all your neighbors and coworkers"? he said.
I counterd with "Don't I  have access to Counsel and somebody Legal to help me at that". He said if I could not afford an Attorny one would be provided for me at the Courts but since he was also a Federal Emploee and the "Government was already "Pissed Off"  at me the best thing to do would be to pay the fine and call it even. I cannot believe I fell for this "Illustereious" scam/jerk.

SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME TODAY FROM A PETER FRANCO OR PETER FRANKEL.
TOLD ME HE WAS A DA FOR THE DEA AND THAT HE WAS TRYING TO HELP ME. NEEDED ME TO CHANGE A NAME FOR MONEY SENT TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND THAT I HAD A HEARING COMING UP. THESE PEOPLE ARE A**H****S. WHAT THE ****!!!! LEAVE US ALONE. WE ARE TRYING TO EXIST IN A CRAZY WORLD AND THESE MANIACS SPEND THEIR TIME DOING THIS SH**. THEY SHOULD GET A REAL JOB.
I AM SO PISSED. I AM REPORTING THIS TO THE REAL DEA. I DID NOTHING WRONG.
THEY CAN ALL GO SCRATCH. DO NOT BELIEVE THEM. ASK FOR CREDENTIALS. THEY WILL TELL YOU THEY ARE HELPING YOU. THEY ARE ALL FULL OF ****. SHAME ON THEM.
KARMA IS A BI**H.

They are using MagicJack to extort People. I called the President of MagicJack and told him what their customer was doing and got a call back from one of their customer reps who was very concerned about being dragged into a Federal investigation. I also called the DEA and gave them Magic Jack's number so they could issue a subpoena as Magic Jack knows who opened the account. I suggest everyone who has gotten calls contact MagicJack's CEO at
MagicJack LP/Ymax Corp, 5700 Georgia Ave., Palm Beach, FL 33405
Telephone: 561-586-3380
Fax: 561-586-2328
and b***h and complain until they finally cut off their phone service or turn in the do***ebags!

Got a call from "Special Agent William Rice" from the "DEA" and said I would be arrested the following day & spend 12-24 months in a federal pen if I didn't pay $9500. Very abusive! I knew I was not guilty & he hung up on me. I called the real DEA & they told me he is an extortionist and transferred me to their extortion hotline so I could leave my info. DO NOT GIVE THIS PERSON ANY MONEY!!!

I SENT A $250 APPLICATION FEE VIA WESTERN UNION (TO INDIA) FOR A $2500 LOAN IN MID NOVEMBER. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET THE LOAN OR RECOVER THE MONEY. THIS COMPANY IS SUPPOSEDLY CALLED GLOBAL LOANS AND THEIR TELEPHONE NUMBER IS 202-241-5919. I FOUND THAT WIRING MONEY OUTSIDE OF THE US IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO TRACE SO DO NOT DEALWITH THESE SCAM ARTISTS. IF ANYONE KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT THIS PLEASE POST IT.

This is a total scam.  This idiot called on Sunday morning 12/26.  Started out by sounding professional, i.e. "court date on 1/10" but lost it when I pressed for specifics as to what we had supposedly done wrong. He got tripped up when he tried to explain that if we contacted an attorney "the deal was off".  He assured me we'd be getting information in the mail soon and hung up.  What a complete jerk. I googled the number and found all of the posts.  Thanks to all who posted their experiences. Don't fall for this moron.

I got a phone call just now from Special Agent William Rice DEA telling ME I would be charged if I did not send $1500 right now to Santo Domingo Dominican Republic! He even told me exactly where to go to PAY the money now or they would file federal charges or I would spend 12 months in Federal Pen!