It works the same way as people who use the internet for Illegal operations such as illegal pornography sites for example. It's essentially Masking your IP address by rerouting your IP address through several other open IP address. I am not exactly sure on how one would go about doing this, but I do know that it can be, and is done on a daily basis, especially for illegal sites, and hackers. I am guessing it is based on the technology that is / was used to clone cell phones. I wish I knew more about it to explain it fully, but I am unfortunately not that technologically savvy.

John (see below) has managed to get them to take their incoming phone number off-line, at least temporarily.  I don't know if they are still making calls to others, but they may not be using this 724 number as a call back number right now.

BTW, as I indicated below, I did call them from +447017602550 this afternoon and was treated to a message that their number was not set up for receiving calls.  That doesn't mean that it was permanently disconnected, however.

I think I delayed too long in pressing the "Submit Message" button, but I think I may be able to learn something from you.

I have three different VoIP providers for different purposes, as well as a 8-port smart switch that can let me view packets arriving at or leaving my FXS adapter.  However, every phone call setup that I've ever seen comes from the VoIP provider, without showing the IP address of the caller, and the media IP address is either that of the VoIP provider or that of a separate company used by the VoIP provider and located near you to avoid latency and increase call quality.  These IP addresses never vary during a call, and are in fact negotiated at the very beginning of each call.

There are other ways to set up a VoIP system, such as by running an Asterisk server yourself on a static IP address or its functional equivalent.  But I don't see either how you would get much different results than I am getting, nor do I see how engaging someone in a lengthy phone call will make any difference.  Either the call is set up, or it isn't.  The setup messages are at the beginning of the call, and there are no step-by-step analog mechanical switches to trace through anymore.

And if you get their actual IP address, how do you get their physical location without the cooperation (voluntary or otherwise) of their ISP?

You don't have to answer these questions if you don't want to -- perhaps you are one of the people investigating these callers.  But if you can reveal at least a few of your secrets, they won't be lost on me.

Poor, poor "Harry"! There he was having a slow day when the little genius decides to stir up a little business by shilling on a website that exposes frauds. The guy thinks he can convince people into believing he's big, bad & legit. Now look at him! He's being laughed at in hundreds of homes around the globe. His boss must be so proud of him!
Maybe when they close up shop & change their names they'll keep the imbecile off the phones & definitely off the internet. I mean really! How can a hard working bunch of frauds earn a dishonest buck with help like "Harrys"?
Good job everyone! This number is toast & I'm sure "Harry" is out applying at other fraud-shops. I wonder if frauds have to leave references on their applications?
Live Well.
Gunnar

I have called the number and spoken with a guy named Adam Ryan, who changed his name to Ryan Scott. This number had a current voicemail up until yesterday, where I left the same message every time I called which was " This is John ***** Returning your call, Please call me back at ***-***-****, so I can go over the details of your previous calls in which you hung up on me, and find out where my validation letter is. Thank you". I have made no threating comments, and never warranted any type of calls from these people originally. I tried calling today from a number that I have never called there with before and got the message that the number was not set up for calls. Now they may still have the number, they are not actively using it. They were told by both myself and family members they called to no longer call, and all calls were recorded (with their knowledge, as I stated this before I began talking with him). The reason I originally put this post up about this number is so people who are not so internet savvy, don't get taken advantage of! Obviously everyone here knows that this company is a scam, but not everyone knows and I would like to make people aware not so much of the number, but of the name of the supposed Business name of Maxwell Legal / Hightower Legal out of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, as there are no such entities located anywhere near Pennsylvania! As I said, every call I made / received was recorded, and I left very courteous messages asking for more information so I could build some sort of lawsuit case against them!

>>> "Yes, the 724-359-0637 number is no longer working! I was trying to have a little more fun with them today, but I guess their phone got shutoff due to non payment!!!....lol" <<<

Actually, I called the number myself from +447017602550 and all it says is that "the number is not currently set up to receive calls."  That is NOT a message that indicates that their number has been turned off by their phone company at all.  

First, they do not necessarily need a telephone number to dial out -- they only need one if they want to receive calls.

Second, the message could be bogus.  It is a simple matter to record a message on an answering device to say whatever they want said when someone calls.  And they could still be harvesting telephone numbers of callers who call the 724 number.  If so, they will now see that +447017602550 tried to reach them.

Third, they could just be giving out another number as a call-back number -- assuming they even need a callback number -- for the time being.  And you (and possibly the authorities) don't know what that number is.

Fourth, it may be that their incoming call parameters that connect their Internet PBX to their telephone service provider may simply have been temporarily changed so that the calls are never completed.

So it might take a little time out of their day while they block all your numbers -- but they have more lines than you do, and more numbers.

So while your personal retribution may feel good for a while, you stand a good chance of getting yourself into trouble both legally and technically (i.e., in terms of still more unwanted calls later on that are harder and more expensive to block).  You should think twice before you undertake such retribution, and three or four times if you don't fully understand how the telephone network works.

I understand where you are coming from, but these numbers they use are VOIP. They use sveral systems that reroute the I.P address they are actually using through several others, and each time they make a call it get rerouted differently thus making it almost impossible to track down their physical location. I have tried several times to track them down seeing as I have plenty of resources at hand to trace calls, and so on. The reason for me calling so many times was to actually to engage them in a conversation long enough to trace their IP address to their location. I am not sure if they are located in this country or not, but the person who called myself and family members, was 100% American, and had a southern accent. I understand where you are coming from, but I doubt someone making recorded threating phone calls, is going to try and file harassment charges on me, seeing as I do have the law on my side on this one since the "company" has ignored several state, county, and not to mention federal laws. I actually welcome the opportunity to have them take me to court, that way anyone else who has been Illegally harassed can join my counter suit! If I come across as being rude at all, I do apologize and I do not intend to come across that way.

>>> "I figured since I already have 2 states attorney generals offices working on it, my police department, and the sheriffs office where my wifes aunt works ( In PA  where the number is supposedly from) I would make them stop myself and it worked!...For Now!" <<<

John, I wanted to avoid having to address you so directly, but what you did may open you up to a lawsuit for harassment, yourself.  Aside from that, the longer an illegal company keeps their number, the easier it may be for authorities to track them down, even if they are overseas.

I don't know if you've checked out the prices for direct inward dial lines (i.e., the "phone numbers" you see calling, unless they are spoofed), but you can get one for as little as $0.99 per month plus a $0.49 setup fee and a penny a minute for both incoming and outgoing calls.  And these will accept up to 25 simultaneous incoming calls that can go to 25 different agents.  Other companies will supply lines at competitive prices that have NO limit on the number of incoming calls a single line can receive.

So making an annoying, fake, or illegal debt collector change his number is no big deal for them.  It just may make it more likely that they will change numbers, making it harder to trace them down.  It also causes them to switch numbers, requiring phone company customers to use up more of their allocation of blockable numbers, which everyone seems to find in such short suppy.

And if you already have the authorities ready to act against them, I doubt that you are helping them much, and submit that you may be making their job harder for them.

As I sit here in my cruiser(oh incase you didn't know I am a Police Officer) I am wondering if I should wait for the sheriff to come arrest me on his faithful steed, or if I should cuff myself, drive back to the station using my teeth to steer, and turn myself in!!! I am quaking in my uniform so badly right now!!!!!! Please Harry, Come scare me into paying or help the sheriff find me....I can't live with the guilt of you and your scammer cronies not being able to eat because I refuse to fall for your ruse!

The reason I did this is because somehow they got some of my wifes family members numbers and were harassing them, and not taking my calls, so I figured since I already have 2 states attorney generals offices working on it, my police department, and the sheriffs office where my wifes aunt works ( In PA  where the number is supposedly from) I would make them stop myself and it worked!...For Now!

Yes, the 724-359-0637 number is no longer working! I was trying to have a little more fun with them today, but I guess their phone got shutoff due to non payment!!!....lol

I want to go on record as recommending against doing that.  There are other ways to bother them, such as getting one or more state Attorneys General to file and win a large lawsuit against them.

>>> "They have finally disconnected their number. [724-359-0637]" <<<

John, is the 724 area number really disconnected?  

I was going to have some fun giving Harry a single call from +447017602550 just to give him my number to call back.  If it's really disconnected, I'll have to find some other way to have fun this afternoon.

UPDATE # 2.....They have finally disconnected their number. I guess this is common practice for a legitimate business, seeing as all of these legitimate debt collectors change their numbers so frequently!!!!! I guess everyone on here hurt Harrys Va**na pretty good, and he had to go tell his "Boss" that he couldn't scare any of us into paying!!!! LOSER!

I feel that everyone should do what I do. I sat at home on my day off with my cell phone in one hand, my wifes cell phone on my lap, and my house phone in my other hand and called over and over, nonstop for over 5 hours. I wonder how they felt being on the receiving end.

NICE tactics!...."i will scare you into paying"

You DO know that this is illegal, don't you?

you...Scare someone.....The only person you have ever scared was your mother after you came out of her, and she realized what a hideous creature she had created, and the horror of the fact that she never had the abortion your father wanted her to get!

Hey Harry, I was called as well as other people in my Family about this Matter! (Which is not a legitimate matter, never had any payday loans here, I make over 100K per year on my own). I have tried calling Adam Ryan back several times and I get sworn at and hung up on, and now Adam Ryan is Ryan Scott! Surprise, Surprise! I have filed the appropriate affidavits through the Connecticut(My home state) and Pennsylvania Courts and Attorney Generals offices, and they are in fact tracing this number back and will ultimately find the location since there is no such Maxwell, or Hightower Legal! Oh did I mention the call I got was on September 9th, 2013, and I was supposed to get arrested 2 hours later because I refused to pay! I hope they didn't get lost in the woods on the way to my House! I hope you rot in Hell Harry, and have a wonderful Life Scumbag!

Oh that is good! Very Nice Shill.. and I love the comments section as well! Great read!

I've found some interesting information.  It just so happened that a person posted a query about one of these calls from "Hightower Legal Processors" who threatened them with arrest for a payday loan on a lawyer's website.

Any interested parties can see the response from a real lawyer
http://nasonlawfirm.com/archives/26

You couldn't scare a child for God's sake.  You must really be getting upset.  First, getting called out as a fraud.  Second, getting exposed as smack talking idiot.

LOL, are you trying to be funny?  That is a perfectly fine number and yet you lack the testicular fortitude to call it.  You care to explain why?

I doubt you and your office buddies could even rip apart a piece of paper.  We know your type, all show, no go --- all bluff no stuff.

>>> Trust me multiple people in my office would love to rip you apart thats a bad # bro better luck next time. ohhh and we dont work weekends work a normal schedule <<<

Horsehockey.  You are nothing but a fraud, Harry, or else you can't read.  Or perhaps you are just a cheapskate, Harry.

My number is running 24/7/365, Harry.  If you can't reach it, perhaps your IQ is too low to know how to dial an international number.  It works for me.  Perhaps you are blocking your caller ID, even though I told you that line does not accept or even ring when you call it that way.  After all, I'm giving you my number.  I want to see yours.  Fair enough, Harry?

But I am looking at the possibility of giving you a 10 digit US number you can dial until the end of the month if it will help keep you out of trouble and you don't mind being recorded.  I don't need that number anymore, so if I decide to tell it to you, Harry, go for it.  Knock yourself out.

If that's still not enough, I am considering dedicating a US Honeypot number just for you 24/7/365, Harry.

But your posts are now reaching the point where you are making terroristic threats over the Internet, which is a crime that can get you 5-20 years in federal prison, Harry.

And Harry, I am not your "bro."  I doubt that you would qualify as a member of the same species as the rest of us.  So stop referring to me that way, Harry.

You don't "work" at all, "Harry". You Scam! You don't have an "office". You sit in a pit trying to defraud people of money. Weekends? When you're a worthless scammer, one days just like any other.
There is one piece of good news for you though, "Harry". You were nominated, and accepted, to have a place on a list that's been (until now) exclusively reserved for Indians, Pakistanis & the occasional Jamaican. Congratulations! You are now officially a member of the "IBGRR". Yes "Harry"! You can now proudly call yourself an official member of the prestigious 'International Brotherhood Of Goat Rump Riders'. I'm sure you'll want to update your resume to include such an honor.
Skeff Ett Liv!
Gunnar

Trust me multiple people in my office would love to rip you apart thats a bad # bro better luck next time. ohhh and we dont work weekends work a normal schedule

Phat chance, Bucko.

Aww, shucks! Mouse, I was really hoping we could get a rise out of this oaf!
Perhaps this one was just bright enough to know when he was out-gunned.
Live Well.
Gunnar

48 hours now.  Zip.  Nada.

Funny thing, really.  They *never* call.  I wonder what they're afraid of?  I'm really a nice person, and I can help them a lot.  Especially Harry.

I *might* make one last report on Monday or Tuesday.  Otherwise, you can safely assume that "Harry" has not called and that this is The End.

It's been almost exactly 24 hours, and I've heard nothing from our friend.  You would think that with all the money he makes and all the tricks he knows that I don't know about, he wouldn't mind paying a buck or two to call me to make me pay him.

So I'm left quaking in my boots worrying that he's just a troll who will never call me.  Maybe he's trying to get me to die of loneliness or something ... <cricket chirps>

That assumes he had any real ideas to begin with ;-)