I have been getting calls from a guy by the name of clayton peterson. He is close to getting me fired at work for calling a million times. How do I stop him from calling me.

Report them to the FTC: https://econsumer.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

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

We have been getting harrassing and disrespectful calls from this company.
They will not stop.  The call back to back repeatedly over and over.
It is annoying and affects our ability to operate as they tie up lies calling.

Please do something about his company.

For the past couple of days I have been receiving calls so a guy that can barely speak English saying that I owe money to a payday loan that I never got from him. I was already scammed once by someone else and not sure what to do about this one. Has anyone ever talk to a lawyer if so what did they say?  These ppl have a lot of nerve playing with ppl. Ppl are having a hard times now with no jobs and the way the economy is and then we have to have the stress of these ppl calling and harassing ppl.

Yesterday I received 70 calls from this ph # and about 40 so far today, either on my cell ph or my work ph. He is a very rude man with an Indian accent. They were cussing at me and telling me to shut up. he stated that I owed money for a payday loan which I applied for online. He used 4 different names: Dan Walker, Kevin Walker, Clayton Walker, Clayton Peterson, He knew all my personal info.
This is really scary that they can get our personal info., so easy.
There has got to be a way to stop this madness

We need to file complaints, file to the FTC for this fraudulent practice.  This is telemarketing fraud, file
here:
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en

"Austin Thomas" from 347-441-3328 has been calling my home and workplace almost 20 times a day, every day.  When I do answer, he immediately starting saying things like, "Listen, shut you (sic) mouth for second!"  At that point I hung up on him.  Will be reporting them to anyone I can.

called my cell phone and place of employment and said his name was AustinThomas. Said I owed money to a company in NY for a payday advance I never had. I told him I knew this was a scam and that I was going to report him. He told me to shut up and F**** You.  I hung up on him.

I have just received about 30 phone calls at work from this idiot.  They were cussing at me and telling me to shut up.  They stated that I owed money for a payday loan which I applied for online.  He says his name is Habib and he wanted me to pay over $600 to protect me from filing legal papers in New York.  I asked him to send me a bill - he refused and told me to shut up stupid effing lady and on and on.  When I told him I know it's harrassment and a scam he continued to cuss me out.  I told him to not call my place of business again and he said he can call me whereever he wants to.  I hung up on him then he continued to call me repeatedly. I was just hanging up on him and the last time he said, how many times can you hang up on me because I can keep calling you all day long.

I've been receiving these calls on a monthly basis since I went to Mexico last year.

FInally left a message saying his name was Austin Powers!!!

Has just called my cell phone 11 times in five minutes.

This person has called our business repeatedly and will not stop.  Informed that we do not know person, asks to please be connected. Will not stop, has called more than 8 times today.  Heavy accent.

isn't it a coincident that the zip code and the last 5 numbers of phone number match:BEWARE< BEWARE  T**** HEADS or better yet Monkey pluckers thru and thru..

This wannabe keeps calling , says is Ray White.  Think about it if is American company will not have a elephant wrangler calling on phone..to make deals and threaten wife and family,  all need is about just one minute to locate in x-hairs,, hey man, get a life for real,, next call from me is to the FEDS,  know a lot of them,,

t**** head *ss holes, tell them NO and what do they do , keep calling.  I don't know them, or want any dealings with them ,, scum suckers is all they are..

Somebody from this numbers has called my business repeatedly