I received a phone call and a voice message from this same number. The same type of message as listed above for an old employee of mine. It says that her or her attorney of records needs to call immediately about some legal case that has been brought against her name. I believe it is a part of a scam.

i can the attoney general on them, its a big scam

This Guys are from India , they are Fraud and collecting money for Thieves and Terrorist Groups Don"t pay them a single dollar Report to nearest Police Station and Indian Embassy in United States. If they Force you to make the Payment Pay by your Debit or Credit card so that you can track them create a Dispute about the Payment and File a Law suit against the Transaction Company who had run your card .Any Person who has been a victim of this Peoples Scam can File a Law Suit of $50.000 against  the owner of the Transaction Company.

I received a call from this number for an old co-worker of mine from an Indian man.  He said that he was Officer Jack Barris(? )from the Bureau of Crime and that she is a suspect in a legal case and that she had to call them immediately.

Received a call today, left an message marked urgent, Craig Washington, with a foreign accent, left a message claiming he was calling from a Federal Bureau, ECI, important that I return a call about a matter that included my name and social security number.  707-474-3538

These people call me from a number that comes up as all 0000's on my caller id.  The man has a foreign accent and says his name is Officer Mike Jones.  They call my house and work phone at least 2-3 times per day.  When I asked for written proof of this so-called debt from a pay day loan I took out.  They refused to provide me with any info.  The guy just says I have a legal filing against my name and social security number.  He told me I could settle this matter if I fax them a copy of my driver's license and obtain a pre-paid walmart card to make payments.  I asked them nicely (at first) to stop harrassing me and send me a letter (like most legit companies do).  "Officer" Jones refused and began cursing at me.  It is extremely annoying and upsetting to have these people calling me like this.  How do I stop this?  Any ideas.  I did report these calls to the FTC, but have heard nothing yet.

I got a call from them today. They have my home #, cell # and my work #. I listed to Officer Paul Stephens. He said that I have 5 criminal charges pending against me due to a payday advance loan online. I told him that I didn't have any loans like that...he said how can you say that. I told him that I think I would know what I have and don't . I told him that he was trying to run a scam and that I was going to file a report with the AG in my home state and also the FBI. I just finish my complaint for both and I save my voicemail that he left.   JERKS! YOU GIVE SOME COLLECTORS A VERY BAD NAME!

That was the same num and same ext num I was called from also this mornung..Said if I don't call there will be a lwa suit filed against me. Said God Bless you..

IGNORE this number! This scammer called my friend looking for my boyfriend claiming my boyfriend was involved in some illegal stuff and that he owed them money. I called them from a fake number to see what the deal was because I was scared someone had stolen my boyfriend's identity. I called the company back and they sounded phony and got angry with me when I questioned who they were, got on reverse phone number look up and on google and found out they are nothing but scammers!!

I have recieced 3 calls from this number today threating me!  That he's a police officer and if I don't have my boyfriend call them back ASAP to solve this serious lawsuit filed against him and his SSN that I would also be behind bars with him!  Yes the boyfriend is involved in a lawsuit but he's the one that filed it but these idiots aren't the other persons lawyers for one!  2 my name and phone # are mentioned no where in the suit!  3 they are divulging info to me that they legally can't!  4 I've called the local police department and I'm am waiting on them to call me back!  I am also making a complaint with the attorney general!

This is a scam. Do not take these people seriously. They have been harrassing me at home and work. I got a call from 707-474-3538 and I know I do not have a lawsuit against me. They said the payday loan company I borrowed from and owed money to was ACS. I didn't get a loan from ACS and called the actual payday loan company ACS. They told me I wasn't even in their system, and that the people calling me were scammers. Do not give these people any money!!!

#1 big dont never confirm you SS or any other info to someone you even think might not be 100% legit...never. I always refuse. i give them my wifes cell and tell them to talk to my "attorney" LOL

its illegal for them to call your job therfore if they do your company can not legally fire you for that. your company knows this. best thing to do is go to your boss tell them whats going on, they may have a legal department that wants in on it. as the scammers are tying up assests in their company..

This is not the only number that will try this 213-373-1768 will call you saying they are with the BCI, i googled BCI its part of the north Dakota AG's office. some basic stuff as this is the 5th time this year these clowns have trred this on me.
1. ask for proof. If its legit they have to provide it
2. Prior to turning any debt over to a collection agency (not a lawyer) a lender has to send you a written communication
3.Always get as much information on the scammer as you can
4. report it to your AG's office and do not be afraid to tell the scammer that you are reporting them..they will hang up quickly,
5. Some would say be nice...my responce is this if you play nice you wont get a word in...as i did just today when some indian guy called me...i told him "no you shut up and listen" they will keep trying to cut you off to confuse and derail you take control.
6.Don't stop at your AG's office go to www.ic3.gov thats the FBI's intenet crime division REPORT them again! tell every government organization that will show even a slight interest!
7. have the name of a good attorney. often telling them who your attorney is or can will make them back off.
8. While this is up to each person the first clowns that tried this with me got a taste of their own, i called them back 15 times a day for 2 weeks straight trying to get them to settle this, yes it was a scam but i was mad and got even, they finally cussed at me and STOPPED calling..never be afraid of these punks, take control and take the fight to them.

The same exact thing happened to me with the foreigners calling me saying I owed them money and they were pursuing charges against me. But could never give me a case number or anything. I tried to research the company they claimed they were and to no avail nothing came up. At first I was terrified. As a single mother of two and a college student I was terrified. So I went and got legal advise but my attorney told me this was a scam. They stopped calling for about a month and now they are harassing me again. I don't know if they bought my info from someone or what but I wish they would stop calling. Its annoying.

It is a scam. From what I've read, they have acquired information which was obtained illegally. They called me this morning and threatened me, saying they filed a lawsuit and that I call to resolve the issue. But if they filed a lawsuit, then you will eventually receive a summons to appear in court. And if they had tried to address this issue with any person, it would have been preceeded by a business letter demanding payment for an alleged debt. They are scammers, using scare tactics and manipulation. Don't call them or willingly give them any information. The number the guy (Officer Stevens/Stephns) is 707-474-3534 x 207.

I actually paid off my payday loan about a year ago and so there is no justification for the call.

This morning I received a voice mail message on my cellular, from a man who identified himself as Officer Neal Stevens, He had a very heavy, possibly Middle Eastern accent (he didn't sound like a Neal Stevens/Stephens).

In his message, he said that a lawsuit had been filed against me under my name and social security number and that I must call to avoid being taken to court. He identified the name of his company as BCI and asked that I call him at (707)474-3538 x 207.

I conducted a search of the number on the Internet and found several pages containing reader comments which allege that this company is trying to extort money from persons who may have once gotten payday loans. According to what I read, the payday loan's records were stolen. One comment asked that people file a report with Homeland Security. I filed a complaint on the FBI's site.

i am getting calls from this number on my job phone telling me he is an officer and i need to call him. he leaves messages and also at the end say may God bless you. What debt collctor says that. But he said the name of the company is CCI and his ext. is 207.

OMG! I got one today and had a friend from work call back with me on the phone and act like my lawyer and it gave them a run for there money. They are ruthless called me 4 times today and I am hoping they call back tomorrow cause I am just going to mess with them and get there blood pumping. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS!!!

The Saint- Your post helps a lot!

Also if they have your account numbers to the bank CLOSE THE ACCT ASAP and get new ones!

We have been receiving the same messages on both of our cell phones only.The foreign man claims that we should have our attorney contact him,but never gives us any info besides a phone number;-which is bogus.We have not given out any info or any kind of authorization.BE CAREFUL OUT THERE !!!!!

I have been receiving phone calls from these guys at home and work.  They are ruthless.  They impersonate that they are police officers.  One just called today and called himself Officer Ray.  Ev ery harrassing call has been by a women or man with a heavy indian accent.  It has gotten to the point, that it is no longer harrasment, it feels I am being terrorized.  This has gone on for too long.  I am sick of their phone calls.   What I am feeling sic,k over is they could call by boss and I could be out of a job if they keep terrorizing me.  They have no scrupules, thats what scary, they dont care.  I am guilty of applying for payday loans and I was careless to do it online, but my god, this is ridiculous.  They have no ethics or dont care to know the laws we have here as consumers in the United States.  The crazy thing is where is the paperwork in all this.  Nothing ever by mail or email.  I am sick and tired of feeling afraid of these a***oles.  Sorry, but I cant take it anymore.  I have been sick over this.  I am now enrolled in a debt settlement to get these payday loans off.  No one deserves to be treated the way these idiots are scarring us with these tactics.  If anyone is going thru this, God bless and screw these idiots.  I called consumer affairs and they even said, if it is a debt, consumers need it in writing.

For at least the last four years, possibly longer, a group has been calling former payday loan applicants advising them that they have defrauded a bank and are now being sued for non-payment of a loan.  The callers will claim to be calling on behalf of an attorney's office (name varies), the Dept. of Law and Investigation, ACS, or other similar combinations below:

United Legal Processing Division
Midline Marketing
Crime Monitoring Services
Monetary Crime Division
U.S. National Bank
Attorney General?s Office (usually in California)
American Legal Services
Affidavit Consolidation Services (ACS)

You will be threatened with arrest, a costly trial and possibly worse.  In no shape, way or form can you be arrested for non-payment on a consumer debt.  Do not believe these threats, as they are without merit and cannot be carried out in the manner they allege.  

Who are they?

In the past when pressed by law enforcement for an address, the callers have provided the following information:

David Morgan and Associates
Morgan & Associates
Morgan Associates
954-727-8481
1155 Northwest 85th Street
Wintergarden, Florida  33150
(Address is likely invalid)

The collector's MO matches a once legit collections agency called Ellis Crosby & Associates.  Here are some links on them:

http://www.budhibbs.com/collectorpages/ellis_crosby_and_associates.htm
http://www.budhibbs.com/collectorpages/EllisCrosbyJudgment.pdf

They have been previously fined over $1.3 million for various violations.  They have been known to use phone banks in India to make their calls, which more or less coincides with the difficult to understand accent many of us detect when we are contacted.  

The last time this group went by any "official" name was back in 2008:

Ellis Crosby & Associates / Douglas & Morgan Associates
4494 Southside Boulevard Suite #200
Jacksonville Florida 32216
Phone:  800-928-3536 / (904) 928-3536
(Address is likely invalid)

There are NUMEROUS consumer alerts out against this group of individuals:

Florida:
http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/061107/met_176207561.shtml

Kansas:  
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/01/ks_debt_collection.html

Colorado:  
http://www.coloradoattorneygeneral.gov/press/ ... lls_likely_orig

Rhode Island:  
http://www.collectionscreditrisk.com/news/rho ... -3002135-1.html

West Virginia:
http://www.wvago.gov/internetloanscam.cfm

Missouri:
On July 15th, 2010 a Public Awareness Bulletin was sent out by Missouri Information Analysis Center.  

"..received reports from individuals in Ohio and Illinois reference suspicious telephone calls they received. In both instances, the callers are reporting that a voicemail is received from a man, with a Middle Eastern accent, identifying himself as an officer working with the Financial Crimes Unit.  The message indicates that the reason for the call concerns a loan made by the receiver or someone in the receiver's family. The voicemail requests that a return call be made and a telephone number is provided. When a return call is made, the caller is asked to provide personal identifying information such as their date of birth and social security number.

Reports indicate that the calls are frequent and persistent and that they even threaten arrest or legal action if information or money is not provided. It appears that the individuals making these calls may have access to some records connecting individuals and their relatives.  Missouri does not have a Financial Crimes Unit and all indications are that this is a fictitious agency. If you receive a similar phone call, please be advised that it is a scam and please contact your local law enforcement agency or the Missouri Information Analysis Center at 866-362-6422."

Bottom line:

Do not supply the callers with any additional information.  Inform them you have reported them to law enforcement and hang up.  If you haven't already, go ahead and report the calls to local law enforcement, your state's Attorney General and beyond.  Look up the local Secret Service branch's information in your area and get in contact with an agent there.  

If you ever applied for a cash advance online, your information is out there.  
Possible sources for the breach of your privacy are:

* The scammers obtained your information from Teletrack - a reporting agency used by many cash advance lenders to determine their risk lending to you.  The service is able to tell cash advance lenders if you have existing loans with other companies, for example.  Many state laws prohibit borrowers from having more than two cash advances out at the same time.

* The scammers created their own fake payday loan application site.  People looking for a cash advance went to the site and applied, thus freely providing the scammers with their information for malicious use at a later time.  

* The scammers were able to get into the database(s) of cash advance lenders - probable targets being Sonic Payday and Cashnet USA.  


How to protect yourself:

* Inform your employer.  You are likely getting calls at home and/or at work, so make sure your employer is aware the calls are part of a scam and to not take them seriously.  Advise the callers that they are no longer allowed to call you at work.  If they continue to call, document the date and time of the calls you received.  Save voice mails left if at all possible.  

* Change your number(s).  For some this may not be an option, for others a one-time number change can be done free of charge.

Be advised - any references you listed on your payday loan application will be contacted.  Let those people know that this is a scam, and they can disregard.

* Use Google Voice.  Google Voice is a great replacement voice mail system for just about any phone number you use.  Messages can be transcribed and voice mail recordings can be saved as mp3 files.  

Pro Tip - call the scammers with a Google Voice number before turning off your old phone numbers.  Make sure when you call you identify yourself so they can start up their script.  At any point after they have your information pulled up just hang up.  They will then start religiously calling your Google Voice number.  At this point, you are free to change your regular phone number(s) and enjoy not having these people ever call you again.  (And laugh at the fact these people are basically talking to a brick wall several times a day)

The scammers change their numbers frequently.  Law enforcement used to think it was because the callers ran out of minutes on their prepaid wireless accounts or they were shuttered due to fraud, but now they understand it's simply to evade detection by savvy consumers online.  With the proliferation of VoIP, it's even easier for the crooks to stay a couple of steps ahead of law enforcement.  Below is just a sampling of the 30+ numbers that have been used in recent memory.

1-201-244-7722
1-209-349-7382
1-209-797-2212
1-212-500-0839
1-213-256-0408
1-213-995-3039
1-281-763-0433
1-347-289-3902
1-347-844-6817
1-347-844-6831
1-424-354-4270
1-516-232-8905
1-516-232-8935
1-518-212-0219
1-561-300-8018
1-561-210-4185
1-626-200-4646
1-631-456-4041
1-646-274-1143
1-646-810-8635
1-650-241-4604
1-707-401-4056
1-707-633-2789
1-708-401-0535
1-716-442-2824
1-717-862-4080
1-718-705-8669
1-760-514-0132
1-760-563-5384
1-772-318-4938
1-850-201-1111
1-858-777-1977
1-859-908-2281
1-866-860-4509
1-877-226-7488
1-888-706-7463
1-888-771-9249
1-888-785-4479
1-909-327-4870

So can they really do anything to you?

It's not a simple yes or no answer.  Logic dictates that, if they really wanted to take you for a ride and drain your bank accounts, they already would have.  

So, why haven't they?  

Authorization.  

Why do you think you are being called so much?  Perhaps it is because they like the sound of your voice?  No, they have to have your authorization to take any form of payment from you, period.  The callers know their audience, and that audience is typically a bunch of people that have applied for payday loans in the past.  Most of those people they call couldn't afford an attorney if they wanted one, and are so used to receiving collections calls that so long as they sound like a real collector, they will likely be perceived as one.

Furthermore, they don't even really want to talk to your attorney - that just sounds official and scary enough.  A real attorney would take the callers to task and write them off as two-bit con artists.  The callers need you, in writing, to authorize payment against the fictitious debt they claim you owe.  Go ahead, ask them for proof you owe the debt - more commonly known as verification of debt.  See what they say.  A phone authorization carries very little weight, so if they have something signed by you on file, you are done for - and the callers know that.  That authorization is the only thing these callers are doing by the book, and for good reason.  If they just went all willy nilly and made an ACH debit from your checking account, without your written approval, you could in turn report the transaction as fraudulent to your financial institution.  In about 7-10 business days, you would get the funds returned to your account.  Then the scammers would be up against a bank and their team of lawyers and investigators.  

Bottom line:

If you haven't paid the callers a dime, don't.  If you planned on paying them to shut them up, just don't.  Remember - you are not being contacted by a legally licensed, ethically owned and operated collector.  Read up on the FDCPA - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf - and know your rights.

http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-646-274-1143/3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I received a call from the same number regarding the same payday loan problem. This company, BCI, had my SS number and my bank account. Thank God I closed that bank account! I was told that I was being sent to court for a payday loan that was not paid. I was going to have to pay the full price and some out of court fees. I asked for a copy of this lawsuit and all this guy could tell me was that since the loan company didnt ask me for any kind of paperwork, I wasnt getting any paperwork also. As I almost fell for the scam, I checked on here and saw this had happen to a few other people as well. I called the loan company and they said they never pursued this action and that I was taken care of. Neil Stevens is the middle eastern guy's name I spoke with. I will ignore this, as I hope all of you do as well.

I also got a call from this number. A foreign guy named Roger Gibson and then another guy by the name Craig Washington. They were asking me to pay for a loan. I asked for the name of the company and they didn't say.

I am getting the same calls at work. Craig Washington, an Eastern Indian sounding man told me I am a suspect in a crime and I need to call him back. I cn hardly understand the guy. I saved the message he left on my phone, as he harassed me. He also told me "god bless you" and "good luck," if I didn't call him back.

He used to call me five times a day at work. Now it's down to once or twice a week. He has never mentioned the dollar amount of what he claims I owe a payday lender, but that's what he claims he's calling about.

How annoying! He said his company is the Bureau of Crime Investigation. Can't find it online. I really do think it's a scam.

PROTECT YOURSELF!  IMPORTANT INFORMATION YOU MUST READ ? HOW THE SCAM WORKS AND WHAT AGENCIES TO REPORT THEM TO

LONG RUNNING AND KNOWN SCAM ? ALL OVER INTERNET AND NEWS FOR  2 YEARS NOW


Fake Debt Collectors ? Terrorizing Consumers

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=5621205&page=1


MORE ON FAKE DEBT COLLECTORS
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-904-425-9141
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/call4action/17285785/detail.html
http://www.800helpfla.com/newsletter/2008/092008.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/01/ks_debt_collection.html  

http://consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/07/video_bill_collector_scam.html  NEWEST CONSUMER ALERT ABOUT THIS SCAM WITH VIDEO!  

http://www.wvago.gov/internetloanscam.cfm
If you are targeted by these criminals, be sure to report them to all the following federal and state law enforcement agencies (most of which you can do online or over the phone):
1.    The U.S. Secret Service is responsible for protecting the country's financial infrastructure and payment systems from international and domestic threats. Call or write your local Secret Service field office to alert them to the details of this attempted extortion. The addresses and phone numbers for the local Secret Service field offices are listed at http://www.secretservice.gov/field_offices.shtml or in your phone book.
2.    Alert the FBI at https://tips.fbi.gov Be sure to tell the FBI that you are being targeted by extortionists over the phone. And if the crooks claim to be law enforcement or lawyers, officers of the court or bankers, be sure to include that information in your report.
3.    File a complaint with your local police. Most police departments will take a report over the phone.  Be sure to tell them that you're being targeted by an extortionist and give them all the details.
4.    File a complaint your state's attorney general, the contact information for whom is at www.wvago.gov
5.    File a complaint online with The Federal Trade Commission at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en
If these crooks call back, promise them nothing, pay them nothing and tell them nothing other than that you know they're a scam and that you've reported them to law enforcement. (And be sure to report them to all the agencies above each time they call you.)

By the way, here's just a small sample of numbers used by this particular group of scammers. Read the reports and you'll see the same pattern time and again -- phony organization names, thick foreign accents, and oddly worded threats that are so melodramatic and ridiculous that it's laughable:


http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-771-9249   Scammer posting here as GARY and GARRY JONES
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-860-4509   Scammer posting here as Mike Henderson
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-212-500-0839   Scammer posting here as Ricky
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-201-244-7722   Scammer posting as Carole, David Brown and Amanda
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-626-200-4646   Scammer false postings at this new number as silshan kanniue and Tina ? preparing a new number to use.
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-424-354-4270   Scammer false postings as Rose
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-785-4479   Scammer posting as Robert
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-909-327-4870   Scammer false postings as Marry
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-646-274-1143   Scammer false postings as Karen Miller, Chichi and Tom Little
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-561-300-8018   Scammer false postings as Marco Polo and Covenant
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-226-7488   Scammer false postings as SAM, David S
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-706-7463   Scammer false postings as George
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-209-349-7382   Scammer false postings as Towanda Robinson, Shannon Walsh, Jack Dawson and Cynthia
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-760-514-0132   scammer false postings as Suzy01, Johanna Hall, Cindie McMellon, Michael Dublin, Mark Williams, Carol and Rio   (800notes removed some of the scammers posts because the all came from the SAME IP ADDRESS)
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-209-797-2212   scammer false posting as Jaison Connar
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-707-401-4056   Scammer false posting as John Carner, KSR
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-650-241-4604   Scammer false postings as jhon and Kevin
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-708-401-0535   Scammer false posting here as JHON
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-518-212-0219  Scammer false posting as Prince Christian, Arpit
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-718-705-8669  Scammer false postings as Alicia
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-707-633-2789  Scammer false postings as Rojer, Minni, Rhone, Smith, Lisa Jack, Julie, Sean, and Carol. ? preparing a new number to use to steal money
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-205-294-6271  Scammer false posting as Thomas Jhonson
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-661-263-4011  Scammer false posting ?ILLEGALLY claiming to be an attorney Charles F Robinson
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-321-684-4117  Scammer false posing as Harry Patt
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-518-565-0306  Scammer false posting as Wellvishers
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-678-791-4673  Scammer false posting as Sherrie Ann and Elvine Buris
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-305-390-0607  Scammer false posting as James and Mark
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-209-349-3112  Scammer false posting as Roger Brown. David Macrow and Andrew
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-646-360-1702  Scammer false posting as STATE LEGAL DEPARTMENT
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-850-254-8883  Scammer false posting as Stella

Scam alert: Bogus debt collectors
By Leslie McFadden ? Bankrate.com
Monday, Aug. 3
Posted 2 p.m.
Bankrate reporter Leslie McFadden contributed this entry.
This scam isn't technically about credit cards, but it is scary enough to post a warning. The Better Business Bureau issued an alert today saying consumers across the country are getting phone calls from bogus debt collectors claiming default on a payday loan. Of course, the consumer needs to pay a large fee to avoid arrest -- as much as $1,000.
The caller poses as a lawyer, and may threaten extradition to face trial if the consumer doesn't pay up immediately.
What makes these calls alarming -- and perhaps convincing -- is that the perpetrators reference the consumer's personal information, such as the person's Social Security number, driver's license number, previous bank account numbers, home address -- even personal references.
"The amount of information they have is really troubling," says BBB spokeswoman Alison Southwick. She adds that the amount of data points to a possible security breach.
Spread the word to your friends and family: Don't give out personal or financial information to an unknown caller. Scammers can spoof Caller ID to display different numbers, so trust your instincts over technology.
The BBB offers these tips:
?    Ask the debt collector to provide official documentation which substantiates the debt.
?    Do not provide or confirm any bank account, credit card or other personal information over the phone until you have confirmed the legitimacy of the call.
?    File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission online if the caller is abusive, uses threats or otherwise violates federal telemarketing laws or the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
?    File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau online if you believe a debt collector is trying to scam you.

Got a call from 707-474-3538 and the gentleman identified himself as detective John Smith and went on saying that i had federal charges against me that he had extradition papers for me to appear in front of a judge in California told me to get a walmart prepaid card and to load 100 dollars and then on september 20 pay 458.79 on a payday loan i took out . Today is August 30 2010

Got the same phone call. Claimed I took out a payday loan, and was now in violation of federal banking regulations, internet fraud, and money laundering. Claimed I owed over $8000 on a loan taken out between January-April 2010. Refused to provide any id #s when pressed, or identify clearly what organization they were with. Would only identify themselves as Bureau of Criminal Investigation but would provide nothing more. The scary thing, of course, is that they did in fact have my accurate name and social security number, and managed to find my boyfriend's phone number in order to find me, which is unlisted.

Back in January I took out a payday loan and paid them promptly on the date agreed upon; both the amount borrowed and interest agreed upon.  Since this loan I have been bombarded with foreignors from all points of the globe trying to get me to invest money, stating that I owe money, claiming to be with the united nations credit dept., a now these 2 phony officers calling me from this phone# and also now calling from an area code 347#.  I am going to contact the attorney general here to see what recourse I can take against the payday loan company( which I later learned is illegal in the state I live in) because this was their doing.  They used th western union logo and I thought this was in fact Western Union but apparently it was not.  I have had to close a checking account because they debited more $ then they were suppose to, the bank actually got me the $ back; I have been called before the hours of 9am and after 9pm which always tells me that these are not legitimate.  Most of the calls were originating from Russia, Nigeria, and the Phillipines.  Need I say more.  Whether all of you out there owe a loan company or not; this doesn't jusitfy being hounded by overseas scam artists.  Get in touch with you attorney general-file a complaint!