I answered and the caller disconnected.

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

Call was received at the main switchboard where I work, asking for me, and transferred to my extension. Voice mail sounded like a computer altered male voice, leaving the name Ben Wilson and the call back number of 415.329.4952. Very difficult to understand, but something about "time sensitive", either I or my attorney must return the call as soon as I listened to the message... If I didn't return the call as soon as I listened to the message, all he could say was "good luck".

YOU HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR CREDIT REPORT  Make sure they aren't filing bogus claim on your credit   I'd put a fraud alert on my account if I were you

I T ' S    B O G U S

wow i love the internet i received the same call with the same accent so i tried to call them back but the phone stayed busy so next thing i did was look that number up to see if it was on the scams list and saw everybody storys now im ready for them to call me back with that mess!!!!!!!!!!!

YES, I RECEIVED A CALL FROM 415-329-4952, AND SOME OTHER NUMBER WITH 347 AREA CODE. SOUNDS LIKE THE SAME PEOPLE. THEY HAVE CALLED ME AND MY JOB. HOWEVER; THEY ARE SCAM ARTISTS AND SAD TO SAY THEY HAVE ALL OF YOUR INFORMATION. I HAVE CONTACTED MY STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND SPOKE WITH AN INVESTIGATOR THERE WHO HAVE NEVER EVER HEARD OF THE BUREAU OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS NOR DEPARTMENT OF LEGAL AFFAIRS AND INVESTIGATIONS. HE STATES THOSE DO NOT EVEN EXIST. POSSIBLY COLLECTION AGENCIES AND STATES US CASH ADVANCE AND THESE PLACES ARE RUNNING A SCAM TO GET MONEY OUT OF PEOPLE WHO APPLY FOR A CASH ADVANCE ONLINE, ALTHOUGH THEY NEVER RECEIVE THE LOAN. I ADVISE EVERYONE TO CHECK THEIR CREDIT REPORTS AND IF YOU SEE ANY UNAUTHORIZED DEBTS, PLEASE REPORT IMMEDIATELY. ALSO, HE TOLD ME TO ASK FOR SOMETHING IN WRITING, IF THEY CANNOT DO THAT, THEY ARE OF COURSE SCAM ARTISTS. THEY ARE TO DO WHAT YOU SAY IF YOU TELL THEM NOT TO CALL YOUR JOB OR CONTACT YOU ANYMORE.

I received this same call and they had my SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER also, did anyone else have them tell you that, they wouldn't even tell me where they were from, but the call was identical to all of the above calls. This should be reported to all the places it can be reported to..

I received the same call from this number.  I could barely understand what he was saying.  I also tried to call this number back but it was continously busy.  Oh well.  I did tell him not to call me at work any more.  Hopefully they wont.

I have received a couple calls from this same number. Same story, I'm allegedly being sued by a cash advance company that I have no account with. He spoke English, but with a VERY heavy middle eastern accent. He told me I would be served with papers from the local authorities both at home and at work. He was kind enough to wish me luck. He did ask for my attorney's name as well. On the message in my phone he stated that it was a very important matter and that I needed to return the call in a half an hour. Screwball is all I have to say after doing research, I was concerned at first and now I'm just pissed that these people are trying to scam hard working Americans of their money. I am reporting it to the SEC - Whistleblowers. These people need to be stopped, it's ridiculous!

I HAD AN IDENTICAL CALL! WHAT IS WITH THESE PEOPLE? I WAS WORRIED UNTIL I PUNCHED IN THE NUMBER TO SEE IF I COULD GET THE NAME OF THE LAWYERS OFFICE. I TRIED TO CALL THEM BACK AGAIN, IT HAS BEEN BUSY FOR OVER AN HOUR, MAYBE THEY ARE BUGGING YOU ALL!

I just recieved a call from a non english speaking guy saying they needed my attorney information and that  was being sued by Cash advance... That I would be served tomorrow. Good Luck is all I have to say

I JUST RECEIVED THE SAME CALL AND THEN HE TOLD ME I WILL BE SERVED WITH PAPERS TOMORROW. THIS WAS AFTER HE ASKED FOR MY LAWYERS NAME. I TOLD HIM I DON'T HAVE A LAWYER, THIS IS THE FIRST I HAVE HEARD OF THIS CLAIM.

I JUST RECIEVED A CALL FROM THIS NUMBER SAYING THEY WERE AN ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND  THAT I WAS BEING SUED BY A CASH ADVANCE COMPANY. WHEN I ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COMPANY, THE MAN, WHO BARELY SPOKE ENGLISH SAID HE WAS NOT ABLE TO GIVE ME THAT INFO. I ASKED TO SPEAK WITH SOMEONE ELSE, HE SAID THERE WASN'T ANYONE ELSE. I ASKED WHEN THIS CASE WAS FROM, HE COULD NOT GIVE THAT NUMBER OUT EITHER.

I just got a call from 415 329 4952 saying its an attorney's office to get billing info for my case... Why the heck would they call to ask for billing information if they are telling me that someone is taking me to court. Not to mention the person(s) that I talked to barely spoke English.

I would say this caller is a Fake, fraud and scammer. DO NOT GIVE INFORMATION OUT!

this is scam

Called and left a message never letting me know a company name or what the call is for.