I received a voice message on Sept 14, 2012 around 11am from a Gentlemen who said he was OFFICER RONNIE BROWN and that I would be arrested if I did not contact OFFICER RICHARD HUNT AT - (281) 763-0471.  I WISH SOMEONE WOULD ARREST THIS INDIVIDUAL. HE CONTINUES TO USE OTHER INDIVIDUAL'S NAME.  Not sure if these names are legal and he are using their names or what.
Thank you

Received a call saying his name was officer Brian white. He said I needed to call 281-763-0471 or I would have an affidavit served to me. I called back and spoke to an Eric Rosen. He said I defaulted on a loan from cashadvance.com. He had all my personal information. Name and email. Even my social security number. I told him I needed this debt verified thru the mail before I paid anything and he continued to Badger me on what would happen if I didn't pay today.He had a heavy Indian accent and it was very noisy in the background. He knew info like that cash advance.com is not the actual lender but a company that finds payday loans. But he could not tell me who the loan was through. Or the date it was taken out. He hung up and when I called back he just said "hello" no company name or anything.

Received a call on my cell phone and my work number claiming i would be arrested if i did not send money for a load i defaulted on.  This person was a male, thick indian accent but his name was Officer Mike Johnson from Texas.  I haven't borrowed money from any advance loan buisness and i have never been to Texas.
281-763-0471 is the number.

just recieved a call from this number some guy named officer mark white called said we owed people money and that we need to speak to richard hunt or we will be sued.  i could hear multiple lines ringing in the background.  ridiculous.

Received a call from this number stating that he was Officer Richard Hunt from the Virginia State Police Department informing me that I was going to be arrested for fraud. When I asked what was the crime that I had comminted he stated that I owed some bank $569.00! When I asked what was the name of the bank, he refused to tell me and just said that I needed to western union the money before 5:00pm or he would send someone here to my job to have me arrested. I laughed and replied that the call was being recorded and that I was going to report them to the FTC! He hung up. He had a heavy Indain accent! These scammers really need to get a life!!!!!!

Got a call from a guy (no doubt in India) claiming to Deputy Paul Green.  They're calling my office, my house, my mobile.  They won't listent to reason but I am making progress in playing huge mind games with them.  I've demanded their badge number when they claim to be a police officer. I demand their American Bar Association number when they claim to be an attorney.  I also tell them my caller ID shows the call coming from Deli, India. They hang up then.  

When I was in Afghanistan the 2nd time I had my ID stolen. It's taken years to fix and these creditors are part of life after your identify is stolen.   It's a complete scam.

We just got two calls in a row from that number, the first time, since the caller id showed the number as the name and number, we just picked up and hung up and they called right back. Usually when we don't know who is calling, we just hang up. So the guy calls back, my husband picked up and the guy identified himself as Mike White of the Federal Bureau of Crime. My husband says he had a very thick Middle Eastern accent. He asked to speak to me, my husband asked me if he wanted to talk to him, I rolled my eyes and he hung up, then I googled the number and found this. I'm hoping he calls back, it could be fun.

just got a same call from mr snyder. when i spoke to his senior officer, i told him i reported him to the FTC and they hung up on me. i hate scammers!

my work just received a call from an officer cruiz who has a middle eastern accent and harassed my work about some kind of debt and said i would be arrested but i  have never been to texas and have know idea what he is talking about

Same situation ~ a man with trying to speak English calling regarding some person and a cash store (which I never borrow from these type of institutes nor know anyone who does) His English is so bad I could only understand that he was claiming to be a Deputy from a Sheriff?s department wanting me to call back or my attorney etc. I wish I would of answered this phone call because being a previous collector myself I know that it is illegal to impersonate yourself as an authority officer in addition to making threats when trying to collect on a debt. I would have surely put this man in his place!

An man with an accent from India called me and said his name was Officer Rollingstone when I started to laugh he got upset and asked me why I was laughing, then he said he would send someone to arrest me thats when I told him I will be waiting then he hung up. This is a scam and they are using my email address as a tool for verification.

Phantom Debt Collectors From India Harass Americans, Demand Money

By BRIAN ROSS (@brianross) , CINDY GALLI and MATTHEW MOSK (@mattmosk)
June 7, 2012

Hundreds of thousands of cash-strapped Americans have been targeted by abusive debt collectors operating out of overseas call centers suspected of links to organized crime in India, law enforcement officials told ABC News.

The calls are part of a massive scam, one that appears to target struggling Americans -- especially those who have gone online to apply for payday loans. Armed with personal information from those pilfered applications, the threatening callers, who claim to be debt collectors poised to initiate legal action, have managed to pry loose millions of dollars from their victims -- even when the victims never owed money in the first place.

"This is what we call a phantom debt collection scam," said Jon Leibowitz, the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. "It's a very pernicious and innovative new fraud."

Working through call centers in India, the commission estimates that the criminals have dialed at least 2.5 million calls, persuading already cash-strapped victims to send them more than $5 million. Some have reported receiving dozens of calls per hour. They are victims like Cindy Gervais, of New Orleans, who went online for a quick loan when her husband's car was hit by a driver who didn't have insurance.

Even though she paid the loan off, the so-called "phantom" debt collectors with Indian accents began calling to say she still owed money.

He more or less told me that if I didn't pay, they were going to have someone on my doorstep to arrest me," she told ABC News. "And that they were going to contact my place of business, and tell them what kind of person I am."

At first, she said she resisted. Then the calls became more frequent, and started to ring on her cell phone, and at the grocery distribution company where she had worked for 27 years.

"I was more or less was in panic mode because he told me there would be someone before noon at my place of business to arrest me and take me to jail," she said tearfully. "So I agreed to pay him."

After receiving scores of complaints, investigators with the FTC said they began tracking the calls, and following the payments. They alleged the payments led them to a California company run by an Indian-American named Kirit Patel, and that such scams would not be possible without American front men.

"I would say that all roads of this scam, or many of the roads of this scam, lead back to Mr. Patel," said the FTC's Leibowitz.

ABC News tracked Patel for weeks, from the suburbs of San Francisco to Austin, Texas.

Patel refused to talk. But his lawyer, Mark Ellis, said he believes it is far too early to pass judgment on his client. Ellis, a Sacramento-based attorney, told ABC News that Patel was hired for a nominal fee to set up an American shell company, and had no idea what the call centers in India were doing.

"I can tell you, he was as snookered by the people in India as anybody," Ellis said. "He's a 69-year-old man who is nearing his retirement who thought all he had to do was set up some corporations and everything was on the up and up. He's completely dismayed that he has become the lightning rod of this entire problem."

A close friend of Patel's also defended him in a brief interview at his home, saying Patel was not trying to defraud anyone -- he was just an unwitting, bit player in a larger scheme.

"If Mr. Patel was just a cog in the wheel he seems to have been a pretty big cog," Leibowitz said. "It is clear that Patel was integrally involved with this scam."

Leibowitz points to thousands of pages of financial and phone records gathered by the FTC and filed as part of a civil case brought against him in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento last month. When FTC lawyers sought to freeze his assets and prevent his business from continuing to operate, Patel responded by invoking his rights against self-incrimination. His lawyer told ABC News he has had to be careful in how he responds to the allegations in civil court "because there is a potential criminal action," but that Patel maintains the allegations against him are false.

Federal investigators said the phantom debt collection operation that allegedly benefitted from Patel's assistance was one of several that all trace back to the same small town in Western India called Ahmedabad. Callers use technology to make it appear that the calls originate inside the U.S. Victims provided ABC News with recordings of dozens of the calls, and many of the thickly accented callers appear to be reading off a script.

"Subpoenas have been readied, and Monday morning you're going to be picked up from your home," one caller says on a victim's voicemail. "And you have children. Don't worry about your children. We have a childcare department to take care of the children."

"You will be behind bars for six months," said another caller. "And once you go behind bars, you will lose your job. Once you are behind the bars, you won't get a single drop of water."

William Peerce Howard, a Tampa attorney who represents victims of harassment from debt collectors, said it takes an especially twisted criminal to use threats and coercion to pry money from someone who is already struggling financially

"These guys really are the most visible villains in America today," he said. "They make a living scaring people."

Mark Merola, of Florida, said he just panicked when the caller told him he might be arrested at the deli where he works in a Florida retirement community.

"I was nervous. I didn't want to embarrass myself, my family," he said. He used his debit card to pay the collector $576.

Afterwards, he says he realized "how stupid I was."

"It just happened so fast," he said. "I got scared."

Leibowitz said he hopes with more attention, future potential targets of the scam will recognize red flags before they turn over any money.

If callers say they are from the police, consumers should know that law enforcement officers do not collect debt for private parties. If the caller is speaking with a thick Indian accent, but calls themselves by a names such as Officer Mike Johnson, that should be a tip off. And if they're calling 40 times in two hours, that's another red flag. "Legitimate debt collectors, legitimate pay day lenders don't do those sorts of things," he said.

Merola said he would like to see anyone involved in the scam prosecuted aggressively.

"There's no place in society for these people," he said.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/phantom-debt-co ... 16512428&page=2

My employer received a harassing call from this number.  I called it and got an officer Richards with a strong accent.  He claimed to be with the Texas Police Department.  When my employer told him there was no such thing, he got quiet.  I have reported his other number to the US Attorney General and the Texas Attorney General.  I will turn in this number, too.  He had a lot of my personal information, but I have never received a loan from the company he claims to represent--US Cash Advance Online.  I looked that up, too.  It is not a real company.  This scammer is crazy!

Have been receiving harassing. All from middle easterner claiming he's from the crime unit of texas and has a warrant for my arrest. Though I've never committed a crime nor ever been in Texas. Refuse to give me details and wanted to confirm my ss#. This person is fradulant. I refuse and am still waiting for this arrest ( which hasn't happened) but the calls are still coming. My home, job, husband. These ppl are out of their minds.

Received several phone calls and messages very threatening and mean. Claimed to be from sherrif's dept. said i would be arrested if i did settle this debt today with them. Be on the watch for this number (281)763-0471

This same caller has also called me and my job . I do not borrow any money from cash advance places, therefore I know this is a fake collection agency.

Received several threatening calls from a man with a middle eastern accent identifying himself as
Officer  Don Douglas from some sheriffs office in Texas.  He was calling to collect a debt. Be on ALERT  of anyone calling from this number it reads on caller id as ACCATEL.