The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, is warning consumers to be on the alert for scam artists posing as debt collectors. It may be hard to tell the difference between a legitimate debt collector and a fake one. Sometimes a fake collector may even have some of your personal information, like a bank account number. A caller may be a fake debt collector if he:

is seeking payment on a debt for a loan you do not recognize;
refuses to give you a mailing address or phone number;
asks you for personal financial or sensitive information; or
exerts high pressure to try to scare you into paying, such as threatening to have you arrested or to report you to a law enforcement agency.

If you think that a caller may be a fake debt collector:
Ask the caller for his name, company, street address, and telephone number. Tell the caller that you refuse to discuss any debt until you get a written "validation notice." The notice must include the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor you owe, and your rights under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
If a caller refuses to give you all of this information, do not pay! Paying a fake debt collector will not always make them go away. They may make up another debt to try to get more money from you.

Stop speaking with the caller. If you have the caller's address, send a letter demanding that the caller stop contacting you, and keep a copy for your files. By law, real debt collectors must stop calling you if you ask them to in writing.

Do not give the caller personal financial or other sensitive information. Never give out or confirm personal financial or other sensitive information like your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number unless you know whom you're dealing with. Scam artists, like fake debt collectors, can use your information to commit identity theft ? charging your existing credit cards, opening new credit card, checking, or savings accounts, writing fraudulent checks, or taking out loans in your name.

Contact your creditor. If the debt is legitimate ? but you think the collector may not be ? contact your creditor about the calls. Share the information you have about the suspicious calls and find out who, if anyone, the creditor has authorized to collect the debt.

Report the call. Contact the FTC and your state Attorney General's office with information about suspicious callers. Many states have their own debt collection laws in addition to the federal FDCPA. Your Attorney General's office can help you determine your rights under your state's law.>

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt076.shtm

This is strange because I got a call 9/27/12 from this number and they said it was M and S Associates and
I was going to be served because I never paid back a pay day loan from Loan Point USA which I have no
idea what they are talking about-got another call today with the number blocked but when I ask his number
he gave me this number and 866-273-5599---BE CAREFULL THESE PEOPLE ARE CRIMINALS TO SAY THE LEAST.

david hunter called...when i called back i got a recording then a man answered (sounded like the man on my voice mail) and said "how may I direct your call?".  I hung up.

report it !

called this weekend and left message. Thank you for everyone's input. I will definitely not be doing business with someone with this poor attitude of professionalism. If they call again, I will ask to be removed from calling list. If they refuse, definitely will make a complaint with the FTC. I suggest all others d the same.

Rec'd call at just before 8am.  Sounded really fishy.  Said that it was John Franklin representing Capital accounts and something about collections on my account.  I called back with my cell phone and after a long wait rec'd the message that I had called after business hours and to please leave my contact information as well as account information.  Lord I hope no one falls for this scam.

The caller said that their name was John Franklin at Capital Accounts and that they specialize in the collection of overdue accounts, and said to call 800-282-3214! Also said that they are calling to see if we were having any challenges in delinquencies! Also wanted to collect my accounts for me too, scam most likely!

Twice weekly John Franklin from Capitol Accounts leaves as message on our office phone asking if we're having challenges with our collection accounts. I've called John Franklin 4 times to ask him to remove our number from their call list. Each time, John is never in but Eric takes my call and hangs up on me when I ask him to please stop leaving messages. Finally, when I did get him to talk to me, he began to challenge me by repeating what I was saying and asking if I'm unsure about our accounts, as if, I'm unsure if I need their assistance. Anyway, completely outrageous and disturbing. I don't know what to do, who to report him to.  Does anyone know how I can get this phony company to stop calling our office?  Thanks

It is nonsense.  Check the FTC website yourself.  There is no such thing as a do not call list for business to business calls.

I have repeatedly asked these people to remove us from their call list
they continue to call-
when i told them we are a business and that we are on the "do no call" registry they told me that was "nonsense"
rude