The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, is warning consumers to be on the alert for scam artists posing as debt collectors. It may be hard to tell the difference between a legitimate debt collector and a fake one. Sometimes a fake collector may even have some of your personal information, like a bank account number. A caller may be a fake debt collector if he:

?is seeking payment on a debt for a loan you do not recognize;
?refuses to give you a mailing address or phone number;
?asks you for personal financial or sensitive information; or
?exerts high pressure to try to scare you into paying, such as threatening to have you arrested or to report you to a law enforcement agency.

If you think that a caller may be a fake debt collector:

?Ask the caller for his name, company, street address, and telephone number. Tell the caller that you refuse to discuss any debt until you get a written "validation notice." The notice must include the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor you owe, and your rights under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
If a caller refuses to give you all of this information, do not pay! Paying a fake debt collector will not always make them go away. They may make up another debt to try to get more money from you.?Stop speaking with the caller. If you have the caller's address, send a letter demanding that the caller stop contacting you, and keep a copy for your files. By law, real debt collectors must stop calling you if you ask them to in writing.
?Do not give the caller personal financial or other sensitive information. Never give out or confirm personal financial or other sensitive information like your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number unless you know whom you're dealing with. Scam artists, like fake debt collectors, can use your information to commit identity theft ? charging your existing credit cards, opening new credit card, checking, or savings accounts, writing fraudulent checks, or taking out loans in your name.
?Contact your creditor. If the debt is legitimate ? but you think the collector may not be ? contact your creditor about the calls. Share the information you have about the suspicious calls and find out who, if anyone, the creditor has authorized to collect the debt.
?Report the call. Contact the FTC and your state Attorney General's office with information about suspicious callers. Many states have their own debt collection laws in addition to the federal FDCPA. Your Attorney General's office can help you determine your rights under your state's law.

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0258-fake-debt-collectors

They use multiple names..I got Peterson and Jones law firm..if u challenge them for information they freak out...ask for a case number and watch..they say your harassing them

I got a call this morning from this company stating they would arrest me and charge me with 3 different felonies. The callers name was Monica Harrison. The phone number they called from was 281 407 5593.

its still a bad check because i entered my bank info online and my account was later closed do to the funds not being in there

how am i a criminal because i asked a simple question.im 18 and i got the same call as everyone else and it scared me but my attorney forced me to pay a loan i got almost a year ago

When you lie and scam on the phone and internet all day, day after day, it ruins your brain. That's why you're confused. But we're not confused that you're a criminal.

It's back to the boiler room with you now. You failed, story of your life.

so its okay to write checks that dont go through?? im just really confused because this made me get a attorney and my attorney made me pay this.. im just really confused right now why would they make me pay something i dont owe..

I rcvd this call today saying I would be arrested for check fraud - mind you I don't use checks - don't own any. I filed bankrupt in 2011 so any debt I do have has been dismissed. I informed them they could contact my attorney and they disconnected the call ..Do NOT pay them! It's a scam

What kind of result did you get?  they called me re; my son, who is married and not living at our address and still gave me all the information (which I should have know they couldn't do) and was going to arrest my son if I didn't pay this money.  well  i did and then find out it is a scam.  Do you have an address or anything that might help me?  I have contacted the sheriff, attorney general and my bank to help get my money back, but the BBB said "good luck"  I need an address of these people.  It is just terrible that our world is so corrupt!

The Law Office of Legal Mediation (Lydia Baker, Monica Johnson, and others) is who is calling from this number. They will say and do anything in an attempt to get money from you, however, it's all a bluff. Yes, I know they sound scary, especially when they start threatening you with being arrested, having felony warrants, etc. But it's really all talk. If they call again, hopefully the following tips will help you out:

1. Before you answer their call or call them back, download Androrec, a FREE app available for Android (not sure about iPhone). Also, I'm in no way associated with this app, I just happen to find it useful.) Once it's installed, it'll automatically record every outgoing and incoming call.

2. You can wait for them to call you back, or you can call them. Tell the caller RIGHT AWAY that you will be recording the conversation. The trick is to have your own voice at the BEGINNING of the recording saying that you are recording the conversation.

3. Ask the caller for his name, company, street address, and telephone number. Tell the caller that you refuse to discuss any debt until you get a written "validation notice." The notice must include the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor you owe, and your rights under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

4. If the caller won?t give you this information, hang up. If a phone number is available through caller ID, report the call to your state attorney general and the FTC.

A few other things to note:

You can?t be arrested simply because you can?t afford to pay a debt. Period.

It?s against the law for debt collectors to pretend to be attorneys or falsely threaten to sue you, regardless of how they communicate ? through texts, through letters, or through phone calls.

Further, owing a debt to ANYONE is a civil matter, NOT a criminal one. A company MAY take you to court over a debt owed, but it is CIVIL court (like small claims court). This means that there is no warrant, no felony charges, etc. If a company decides to take you to court, they have to file the paperwork in the correct jurisdiction and then someone from your local sheriff?s office will serve you papers that let you know that a court date has been set, and for what time and place.

You can add Monica Johnson to that list of names. [ :

My mother got a call from these people and I do work for an attorneys office who does collect debt
This place has broken numerous laws and will be reported to every agency I can!!
to leave threatening messages and to make people feel as if they could be arrested is NOT OK!!!
There are laws that protect consumers as ALL of us are consumers and even the people who are calling you
Owe some kind of debt wether it's a mortgage or a car loan so always remember they are equal to you and just because you owe a debt doesn't make you a bad person! If there is something I can offer here is if you do owe a collection or attorneys office and they are on the up & up they will work with you to get it resolved!!! this company is awful and makes people like me who do there job the right way look bad!!

This just happened to me as well. elizabeth andrews a private investigator seeking information about the case. Blah blah. as soon as i started asking for dates and specifics i was told it was all sealed away in an evidence envelope that she specifiacally told me minutes earlier that she was still puttin together. blah blah telling me a deposit was made into and account in aprill 2011 that was closed in october 2010. called the bank to verify. these people are rediculous. number is 281 205 8388. crooks and disqusting people.

I filed every report that I could regarding these scammers, and I filed a fraud report with my bank because I had fallen for it and paid $800.  My bank gave me my money back.  SO, if you do fall victim to these vicious people, do not stop fighting!!!  Christina Monroe was one of the people calling me as well.  Once I started asking them a bunch of questions, they became irate.  This madness has to stop!!!

I received a message on my phone from  phone number 1-281-674-7142 to call a Christina Monroe. They told me that I owed 1,300 on some payday loan.  They also told me that they filed charges on me in baltimore county.  I was terified. The very next day I responded to the above phone number and talked to Ms. Monroe.  She told me that I owed this money and she would talked to her lawyers to see if I could make monthly payments.   I decided to googled the person Christiana Monroe from 1-281-674-7142 and it is a dozen messages informing me that this is a scan.  Thanks for all the people that are reporting this scan.  Again as long as we keep on reporting these scans eventually they will stop. Thank You

281-407-7749 Scam Do not fall for the lies. Send no money!!!!!!!!

You will have to do this yourself:

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, is warning consumers to be on the alert for scam artists posing as debt collectors. It may be hard to tell the difference between a legitimate debt collector and a fake one. Sometimes a fake collector may even have some of your personal information, like a bank account number. A caller may be a fake debt collector if he:

?is seeking payment on a debt for a loan you do not recognize;
?refuses to give you a mailing address or phone number;
?asks you for personal financial or sensitive information; or
?exerts high pressure to try to scare you into paying, such as threatening to have you arrested or to report you to a law enforcement agency.

If you think that a caller may be a fake debt collector:

?Ask the caller for his name, company, street address, and telephone number. Tell the caller that you refuse to discuss any debt until you get a written "validation notice." The notice must include the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor you owe, and your rights under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
If a caller refuses to give you all of this information, do not pay! Paying a fake debt collector will not always make them go away. They may make up another debt to try to get more money from you.?Stop speaking with the caller. If you have the caller's address, send a letter demanding that the caller stop contacting you, and keep a copy for your files. By law, real debt collectors must stop calling you if you ask them to in writing.
?Do not give the caller personal financial or other sensitive information. Never give out or confirm personal financial or other sensitive information like your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number unless you know whom you're dealing with. Scam artists, like fake debt collectors, can use your information to commit identity theft ? charging your existing credit cards, opening new credit card, checking, or savings accounts, writing fraudulent checks, or taking out loans in your name.
?Contact your creditor. If the debt is legitimate ? but you think the collector may not be ? contact your creditor about the calls. Share the information you have about the suspicious calls and find out who, if anyone, the creditor has authorized to collect the debt.
?Report the call. Contact the FTC and your state Attorney General's office with information about suspicious callers. Many states have their own debt collection laws in addition to the federal FDCPA. Your Attorney General's office can help you determine your rights under your state's law.

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0258-fake-debt-collectors

They got access to my personal information and said I wrote fraudulent checks which I didn't.  Please look into this matter and have charges filed against this outfit.

Fair Credit International was the name of the company that the payments I made went to.  I have since filed a police report and filed a scam/fraud report with my bank.

I received a called from 281-306-0340 and because I do o0we a couple of loans I ended up paying them. Going to the police.....

This 213-375-3961 was one of the other numbers that I got a call from.  I submitted a complaint with the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.

I also got a call from Christina Monroe of "Kern & Brownstone" with the same fraud allegations and a warrant was going to be issued for my arrest. The number I got  the call from was 213-375-3961 and they were in Los Angeles, California. I actually did pay them because I was so scared but after I started doing research I disputed the charge with my credit union and got my money back!! They even tried to take the remaining payment on the date that I had set up with them but I had already closed my account and requested another card already! You can not go to jail for owing any kind of debt! Debts are a civil matter, not criminal!! One word: SCAM!!!

Someone I know received a similar call, with this number given as a call back number...from a woman claiming to be from the NY State Attorney's Office.  I got suspicious on two counts: #1 the woman was speaking with a southern accent, and #2, the Texas area code. I googled the entire number, and found this website!

The numbers that they have called me from and that I called them at.......888-552-6595, 678-681-9703, 213-375-3961, 404 996 5401, 281 205 8388
Names.......Christine Monroe, Elizabeth Andrews, Melissa Clark, Lynn Waters, Vanessa Long, Lydia Baker....and office of Kearn and Brownstone

I started getting these calls in June, and I called them back at the original number and spoke with someone a few times, then I called one day and number was disconnected.  I called number listed on my bank account next to the payment, that number was disconnected, I googled the place (Fair Credit International) and found a number, but started getting calls from SEVERAL people regarding the same FICTITIOUS bill, then I realized something was wrong.  I have a tally of every call and every number and every name that I spoke with, along with my bank statements where I paid, and I'm going to the police!!

OMG!!!  Exact same thing happened to me, except that had tons of personal information, including dates I had filed for a specific loan and the email address I used.  I actually paid, then my radar went off that something wasn't right!!!  Oh My!!!!

Did these people leave a call-back number?
Did they call from any other numbers?

I ask because several scammer collection agencies use this tactic...usually followed with "UNLESS you pay us $xxx TODAY and we can cancel the warrant" and want a credit card number.

I received the same call as Woodrunner.

I got the same call, stating I was going to be charged with three counts of check fraud and one count of malicious intent. I was freaked out, but then contacted my attorney. She told me that these guys seem to be some sort of scam. The woman who called said she was from Kern and Brownstone attorneys. I looked them up on the internet. No such company. My attorney also did a reverse phone number look up and saw all of the complaints against them. Don't trust these people. Don't just assume that because you have bad debt or credit issues that you must owe the money.
These guys are just lower than low, attacking people and trying to scare them into sending in money. Don't fall for it.

No one calls you to give you a heads up you'll be arrested.  The cops just show up.  This is yet another scammer trying to scare people.  Report the call to the FTC, the FBI and your state's Attorney General.