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

i got a message at work stating i needed to call Eric Wilson at 347-862-9209 reguading a law suit when i returned his call and would not give him any info he called me a F***ing A** hole then he hung up so i called the number again and he told me to stop calling this number folks beware its a scam!!!!!

Just got this call and I know it is a scam because it was suppose to be a PAY DAY loan service I used... I have never ever used a pay day loan service.  When I told him that my husband was active duty military and that this was a scam, they put me on hold and never came back on the line.   DO NOT give any information to these people.  Also, do not randomly give our your phone number to stupid websites like Monster or any other online job search service.  This is the only place mine could have come from because we keep our numbers very private.

347-862-9209 - An idiot called me at my work telling me he was from a law firm and it was an urgent matter.  When I asked him to identify himself, he kept saying, "I can not tell you".......I asked him which pole he was calling from.  He cursed at me.  DO NOT GIVE THESE PEOPLE ANY INFORMATION.  SCAM....SCAM...SCAM!!!!

they said i owned for a paid day loan that i payed off  over two years a go . they  also gave  me these numbers fax number is 646 224 9599  and 347-960-0616and said they were calling on behalf of a william  Scott  at the name below  ,,

had the same thing from them. Called about 14 times to my work number. So next morning called  them 50 times asking them tough questions like so can you spell they law firms name. Do you have an address (answer no) , So I tried to be helpful now when you came out of th house this morning did you turn right or left. For some unknown reason from so desperatly needed to speak to me they refused my calls for the next hour.

I got a phone call from this number and a middle-eastern man left a voicemail which I couldn't understand. When I returned the call, whoever I was speaking to said that he was from a "law office" and I will see them in court unless I paid them the money I owned them--411$. This will NOTbe happening!

I received a call from 347-862-9209 and the person left a message on my work phone saying " This message is for" and said my name, and said his name was Jack Taylor and was an attorney and needed to speak to me about a lawsuit that has been filed against me. So with concern I returned the call and like those before the voice was with heavy accent. So I told the person that I knew nothing of a lawsuit and wanted to give him my attorneys name he said oh no I don't want to talk to your attorney, I'll pay you $300.00 to be with me. I said excuse me thinking I misunderstood what he said, But nope it was what it was, the man wanted to give me $300.00 to be with him. Wow what in the heck is the world coming to. Crazy!

I have had the same person call 3 time in one day and he has been calling for a week now claiming to be Jeff Taylor and needing my sociual security number or I will be arrested, what a crock be careful everyonemand DON'T give ANYONE you social number!

I just got a call from Jeff Taylor today too and he said that I have charges against my social security number and that if he didn't hear from me that he would send it to the court.  I have not had any of these loans that they are talking about and I know it is a scam so I am going to report them to the FTC.

I was contacted today by a man who claimes his name is jeff Taylor, but his accent is VERY much that of someone from India. When I refused to give them my name, social or any contact info the individual became irate. He stated that I had criminal chrges pending on my social security number and that I have sme sort of debt thyre trying to collect on... I gave them no info and hung up. They call all day long.

I received a call last night from 347-4747041 and an indian speaking man left me a message to call him immediately.  He said his name is George Martin and he's an investigating officer for the legal office of New York.  He had a federal case against my name and SSN and if I didnt' call him back immediately that he would turn it over to my court in Michigan and the police will come and arrest me and throw me in jail.  I would also have to pay tens of thousands of dollars for the legal system and be fired from my job.  I have had calls like this before and they are all scams.  They will start and stop every couple of months.  I have filed complaints with the MI Attorney Generals office, BBB, FTC, IC3 (internet crimes division), and my local police department.

I HAVE RECEIVED CALLS FROM 1-347-862-9209 BOTH ON MY CELL AND AT WORK CLAIMING I HAD AN OUTSTANDING BALANCE FROM A "PAY DAY ADVANCED"  I RANDOMLEY CALLED SEVERAL PAY DAY PLACES AND THEY ALL TOLD ME THE SAME THING.  THESE PEOPLE ARE SCAMMING ME, THEY EVEN SAID ARE THEY "INDIA SOUNDING" AND I SAID YES.  DO NOT FALL FOR THIS, TELL THEM YOU ARE REPORTING THEM TO YOUR LOCAL AUTHORTIES.

My husband received a call from 1-347-862-9209 at his job to where they gave a co worker his social security number....when i called it the claimed that it was a outstanding balance for something that my husband supposedly owed someone...when i said you will be hearing from my attorney they hung up on me.....dont fall for it.......

I am getting scam calls.  When they come in, they come in about 2 minutes apart.  No message was left with this number.  I refuse to answer any number I do not know.  I am on the National Do Not Call List, and this will be reported.