I think I too am being scammed threw my cell phone . I think use tether my phone to make long distance video chat to family . But i not to sure on who it is. BE CAREFULL. FRAUD IS HAPPENING . I seen online many cases like mine

I got the same call from a Detective Mike Sanchez. (205) 540-6191. He told me to send him $250. From moneygram to Alabama. To a mellisa Rodthstien? He said he was in broward county florida? I sent the $250 because I didn't want to get in trouble. I'm going to get to the bottom of this!

And the number was the 540-6191

This guy is a fake! I did a little research on him and his real name is Sam Hendrickson! He is a 60 year old scam artist ;) f*** you moth******er

He called me.from 2055406191. I didnt kno he was fake till now. Wait till calls back hes gonna be sorry he felucked wit me

Ive been getting calls from him asking for $250. He asked where i worked and didnt ask my name till later on... has anyone sent him the money? He told me to money gram it to the state of alabama and somthing about melissa rodstien? I need someone to answer me because idk if i should call my lawyer or just send him the money...

he quit calling me after i called him out about there not being a benton county in Alabama so there couldnt possibly be a benton county sheriff department. but he is deffinately a con artist

i got a call from a detective Mark sanchez from Alabama and he told me the same thing but the number isdifferent it is 2055406191 is this a fake too i cant find him anywhere on the internet and he told me to send the money to a guy named wilbert Williams

HE IS FAKE  he called me n told me i was talkin to a 16 yo gurl on the internet n made derogatory gestures towards he asked were i worked n i wasnt at the time so he said he was gonna give me a second chance to call this number for 2 weeks n pose as a 15/16 yo gurl on the internet m catch men talkin to her that were over the age i was scared so i did it i gave him about 300 names n numbers n even told him wat he said . just yesterday my cuz called me n told me that he called him 2 sounds funny rite well he asked my cuz were he worked didnt even ask him his name told him he was gonna call back in 30 mins to c wat the state said he then told him he had to make a 200 $ payment so my cuz looked the guy up n turns out hes a fake oh yea he told him that he would drop the fine lol down to 150 if its a charge by the state hows a detective gonna drop 50 $ like that ? FAKE A!! MUTHA FUCK3R

the num 205-540-6191 called me 2

he called me today bout 10 sayn i got 2 hrs 2 call him an i call he says oh ima give u a 2nd chance but a 200 dollar fine

i got the call today from this mike guy sayn i owe a fine of 200 i had 2 hrs to call bak an all this stuff an he called my cuz sayn the same thing i belive its fake

Has anybody heard anything else about this? I got a call this morning but the number was (205) 540-6191

Is he real? Cuz hes calling me from that # too

I have no clue where it is located in the FCC.

Ok thank you! I told my parents and the owner of my online community(he's 29) about this and they said not to answer and now that you tell me that I will no longer answer his calls or call him back if he leaves a message. I appreciate your help as I was truly frightened. What subject of the FCC would this case be under? I will call and file a complaint about him if this is listed under their topics

If I were him, I would shut his scam down because it is about to be under investigation.

He claims he is from Benton Conty Sheriff's Department. I live in Alabama and there is not a Benton county in Alabama. I have talked to local authorities and they said it is a scam. Another thing, if he is truly a "detective," then when he went to court his name would be on the court papers. Court papers are available to the public unless it is a youthful offender case. His name can't be found anywhere on the Internet, which it should be if he is being honest.

I also got a phone call from him today and i got a second number to call and you HAVE to type in the "1" then the area code or else the number will not work. I also looked up both number he gave me, one in birmingham AL while the other is in Monroe AL, a full 3 hours and 18 minutes apart. He also told me I have to work as a Confidential Informant for him for 2 weeks or im going to go to jail. He claims I spoke to a 13 year old and made inappropriate gestures towards her over an online chat. I wasn't even on when these events occured. I do not know what to do

I read the story, but the person that has been calling me is not saying anything about me owing a debt and his phone number appears to be from Birmingham, Al.

Yes its a phantom debt collector they say you owe and you do not

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/phantom-debt-co ... ory?id=16512428

abc news did a story on this

Did the person that claimed to be "Mike Johnson," call from (205) 542-6853?

The "detective" that contacted me, said his name was "Mike Sanchez," and he was threatening me with federal charges. The charges had nothing to do with me owing any type of debt. Have you heard anything about this?

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/04/broadway.shtm
Court Halts Alleged Fake Debt Collector Calls from India, Grants FTC Request to Stop Defendants Who Posed as Law Enforcers
California-based Defendant Ran Phantom Debt Collection Scheme from His Home, FTC Alleges

In response to charges from the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. district court has halted an operation that the agency alleges collected phantom payday loan debts that consumers either didn't owe to the defendants or didn't owe at all. The defendants' scheme involved more than 2.7 million calls to at least 600,000 different phone numbers nationwide, according to the FTC. In less than two years, they fraudulently collected more than $5.2 million from consumers, many of whom were strapped for cash and thought the money they were paying would be applied to loans they owed, according to FTC documents filed with the court.

The court order temporarily stops the illegal conduct and freezes the operation?s assets while the FTC moves ahead with the court proceedings and seeks refunds for consumers.

As part of its continuing crackdown on scams that target consumers in financial distress, the agency charged Tracy, California-based Kirit Patel and two companies he controls with violating the FTC Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Often pretending to be American law enforcement agents such as "Officer Mike Johnson" or representatives of fake government agencies like the "Federal Crime Unit of the Department of Justice," callers from India who were working with the defendants would harass consumers with back-to-back calls, according to the FTC. One consumer reported that the caller threatened to have her children taken away if she did not pay, according to court documents.

Another consumer told the FTC, ?The callers threatened me and claimed they would arrest me if I didn?t pay them the alleged debt. One of the callers even contacted my neighbors and told me he was watching my house. The callers had a lot of . . . personal information about me, including my work address. One caller told me, ?We just saw you walk into your office building,? and then listed my office address. Another caller told me there were 55 warrants out for my arrest. Sometimes my caller ID would indicate that the call was from the FBI. Because the callers knew so much about me, I believed they were police officers or FBI agents. The calls scared me and I was often shaking when I hung up the phone."

In difficult economic times, consumers may turn to high-interest, short-term payday loans between paychecks. The FTC alleges that information submitted by consumers who applied for these loans online found its way into the defendants? hands.  Because the callers had this information ? which often included Social Security or bank account numbers ? and because many of the victims already were in a tenuous financial situation, they often believed that they owed the defendants the money, according to the FTC. In some cases, when consumers made the allegedly bogus payments, they had nothing left over to cover legitimate expenses: Two mothers reported that they could not buy Christmas presents for their families after making payments on the phony debts.

The defendants typically demanded several hundred dollars and, in violation of federal law, routinely used obscene language and threatened to sue or have consumers arrested, according to the FTC?s complaint. They also threatened to tell the victims? employers, relatives, and neighbors about the bogus debt, and sometimes followed through on these threats, the FTC alleged.

Once victims were pressured into paying, the callers instructed them to use a pre-paid debit card such as a Wal-Mart MoneyCard, another debit card, a credit card, or Western Union so the money could be deposited into one of the defendants? merchant processing accounts, the FTC alleged. Even after victims made a payment, the harassing calls often continued, forcing them to change their phone numbers, or close their credit cards or bank accounts in an effort to get the calls to stop, according to documents filed with the court.

The FTC alleged that of the $5.2 million the defendants collected, almost $1 million was returned or charged back by their merchant processor, resulting in consumer injury totaling more than $4.2 million.

The complaint alleges that the defendants violated the FTC Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by:

   misrepresenting that they had the authority to collect on supposedly delinquent loans that consumers owed, they were a law enforcement authority or were affiliated with a government agency, and that consumers would be arrested, imprisoned, or sued; and
   using obscene or profane language, and calling consumers repeatedly with the intent to annoy, abuse, or harass them.

For more information about how to handle callers who claim to be debt collectors, see

Who?s Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 4-0. The FTC filed the complaint and request for a temporary restraining order in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California on April 3, 2012.  On April 5, 2012, the court granted the FTC?s request.  

The FTC would like to thank the Better Business Bureau for its assistance in this case.

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has reason to believe that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendant has actually violated the law.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).  The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.  The FTC?s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.  Like the FTC on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

He contacted me as well. Has anyone not complied with him or not paid the money that he wanted? If so, what did he do?

Its a scam no doubt about it

I was contacted by Detective Sanchez on Friday the 13th stating that I was to contact him within two hours or he was going to turn my case over to the district atty. of Benton Co. and if he didnt hear from me by Monday then he would have me expedited on federal charges per D.A. orders. I contacted him and he told me the allegations and that he would contact me in 30 mins after the first contact to see if charges would be dropped. He said he realized I was serious. Then he stated that they had decided to give me a warning and I have to a fine of $100. Then he told me a 2nd number to call and report in everyday til the 19th when i am to get the info to send the payment for the fine. But the 2nd number is just like a cell phone voice mail. I do not know if this is a scam or not but I am visiting the local police and letting them know about all of this as well!

Don't know his name but I am sure he is a fake

Claims to be a detective sanchez Whats this guys name

So what if anything have you been able to do about it?