Got several calls from this number.

One leg of this scam has been shut down:

Even scam artists are outsourcing. On Tuesday in its first crackdown on fraudulent telemarketing in South Asia, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it was shutting down two California-based companies that used a call center in India to defraud Americans out of more than $5 million over the past two years.

Workers in India made threatening calls to Americans getting them to pay money on debts that they didn't owe, the FTC charges. At an FTC press conference in Chicago on Tuesday, fraud victim JanLaree DeJulius explained that she had received a call from someone claiming to be an enforcement officer from the (phony) "Federal Department of Crime and Prevention," who threatened to have her arrested and have her wages garnished if she didn't pay a bill of more than $730. The scam artists had gotten her name and information from a payday loan her ex-husband had taken out in her name.

"It was very embarrassing," Dejulius said. "He knew everything about me so I agreed to set up an installment." She is not alone. According to the FTC, more than 8 million calls were made since 2010 and at least 17,000 transactions processed across the United States related to the global scam.

On Tuesday under request from the FTC, a U.S. District Court in Chicago stopped the international operation, charging Varang K. Thaker and two companies he owned, American Credit Crunchers, LLC, and an affiliate Ebeeze, LLC, with violating the FTC Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

"This is a brazen operation based on pure fraud, and the FTC is committed to shutting it down," said David Vladeck, director of the FTC's consumer protection bureau. "Consumers should not be pressured into paying debt they don't remember owing. Legitimate debt collectors must provide consumers with both written information about the debt, and instructions for protecting themselves if they don't think they owe the debt."

According to the FTC's charges, Thaker used Social Security numbers and bank account numbers obtained from payday lenders to identify the victims for his scam. He outsourced the work to an Indian call center, where workers made threatening calls to American consumers to pay fake debt or collect on bills for which they were not authorized.

Thaker was not available when contacted by telephone on Tuesday. A woman who claimed to be Thaker's older sister and asked not to be named for privacy reasons said he is working with the FTC to help the Indian government pursue the fraudster call center operators. She also said he was innocent in the scam. "He was being used by somebody. He didn't even know where they got the information," she told The Huffington Post by phone. She said that her brother got 10 percent of the earnings from the scam operation.

The FTC charges against Thaker are the latest in a series of police actions by the government agency to put an end to rogue debt collection operations that have become more frequent in the aftermath of the Great Recession. In January, the FTC struck a $2.5-million settlement with debt-buying company Asset Acceptance, LLC, charging that the company had falsely represented itself to customers, including making up phantom debts that customers no longer owed. Last October, the FTC filed a complaint against seven other fraudulent debt collectors, alleging that they had engaged in the same techniques -- demanding money from customers who owed nothing at all.

The growing number of Americans who are unable to pay their bills has meant there are more companies looking to profit from their economic difficulties.

Debt collectors have been taking more aggressive tactics as fewer people are able to make ends meet or are in a cycle of debt. More than 30 million Americans are in debt collection, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Since 2010, more than 4,000 complaints have been filed with the FTC and state attorneys general about fraudulent debt collection calls, the FTC said.

Charles Junitkka, a personal bankruptcy attorney who represents clients in the New York City area, said, "In the last few years, the desperation of the collectors and their efforts have intensified because of the economy."

This story has been updated to reflect comment from a woman who says she is the sister of Varang Thaker. Thaker himself was unavailable for comment.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/21/ftc- ... _n_1289751.html

I JUST RECEIVED A CALL FROM THIS NUMBER.  IT IS A SCAM.  THE INDIAN ACCENT MALE THAT TALKS TO YOU DOESN'T WANT TO BE INTERRUPTED AS HE STATES THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST YOU.  DOESN'T WANT TO BE QUESTIONED ABOUT THE ISSUE. JUSTS WANTS YOU TO KNOW YOU ARE GOING TO JAIL IF YOU DON'T SEND SOME MONEY.  THE RED FLAG CAME UP WHEN THEY WON'T GIVE ME ANY INFO, WON'T FAX NOTHING TO ME SO I CAN SEE WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT.  I TOLD HIM THAT HE IS A SCAM AND THAT THE PHONE CALL WAS RECORDED AND TO NOT EVER CALL ME AGAIN.  THEY ARE ALSO CONNECTED  TO THE OTHER PHONE NUMBER SCAM, 707 AREA CODE.

A man with an Indian/Eastern accent called my cell and left a messasge.  He said his name was Ronald Lee & that he worked for the Dept. of Crime Prevention. I was told to return the call immediately or I would be facing serious criminal charges. I never called back, then I go in to work & I recieve a piece of paper with this guy's name & number.  So, I called the number and was told that I took out a loan with Cash Net 3 or 4 yrs. ago and never paid it back. I told the guy I never took out a loan and he became extremely rude. I asked him to send me the proper documents pretaining to the loan and he told me NO, that I could take it up with the judge in court. Then he hung up on me.  I called and told my husband about the call & gave him the number. He called the guy and was told that I had a loan in the amt. of $842 with Cash Advance that has not been repaid. My husband asked the guy to fax the paperwork to our lawyer & the man hung up on him. My husband called back & the guy told him they had just issued a warrant for my arrest.

I just got a message heavy accent man saying I was in big trouble better not ignore this call went on and on. I called back answered Brandon Smith law firm I said I wanted the attorneys address to send a complaint for harrassment he said good luck hung up!!! This happened to me last week from California I was stupid enough to comply I paid they made me so scared never gave me a confirmation as they said they would or mailed paper work. I got screwed royally and I called back told them I turned them into the FBI in California a police report done locally and Homeland Security. My AT&T operator called as well to help me and said they were scaming and helped me to block their numbers so I will do this as well. Creeping me out!!! When I told them they were all over the internet their numbers as scams he said from California that those people were losers and did not want to pay their debt!!!

Extortion Scam Related to Delinquent Payday Loans

Washington, D.C.
December 07, 2010  FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691

? filed under: Press Release
The Internet Crime Complaint Center has received many complaints from victims of payday loan telephone collection scams. Callers claim the victim is delinquent in a payday loan and must repay the loan to avoid legal consequences. The callers purport to be representatives of the FBI, Federal Legislative Department, various law firms, or other legitimate-sounding agencies. They claim to be collecting debts for companies such as United Cash Advance, U.S. Cash Advance, U.S. Cash Net, and other Internet check-cashing services.

According to complaints received from the public, the callers have accurate data about victims, including Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, employer information, bank account numbers, and the names and telephone numbers of relatives and friends. How the fraudsters obtained the personal information varies, but in some cases victims have reported they completed online applications for other loans or credit cards before the calls started.

The fraudsters relentlessly call the victim?s home, cell phone, and place of employment. They refuse to provide any details about the alleged payday loans and become abusive when questioned. The callers have threatened victims with legal actions, arrests, and, in some cases, physical violence if they do not pay. In many cases, the callers harass victims? relatives, friends, and employers.

Some fraudsters have instructed victims to fax a statement agreeing to pay a certain amount, on a specific date, via a pre-paid Visa card. The statement further declares the victim will never dispute the debt.

If you receive these calls, do not follow the caller?s instructions. Rather, you should:

?Notify your banking institutions.
?Contact the three major credit bureaus and request an alert be put on your file.
?Contact your local law enforcement agencies if you feel you are in immediate danger.
?File a complaint at www.IC3.gov.
Tips to avoid becoming a victim of this scam:

?Never give your Social Security number?or personal information of any kind?over the telephone or online unless you initiate the contact.
?Be suspicious of any e-mail with urgent requests for personal financial information. The e-mail may include upsetting or exciting but false statements to get you to react immediately.
?Avoid filling out forms in e-mail messages that request personal information.
?Ensure that your browser is up-to-date and security patches have been applied.
?Check your bank, credit, and debit card statements regularly to make sure that there are no unauthorized transactions. If anything looks suspicious, contact your bank and all card issuers.
?When you contact companies, use numbers provided on the back of cards or statements

http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/paydayloanscam_120710

Indian called me and said i was going to go to jail for check fraud when iask what the check was for and he said he could not disclose that to me. After i talked to him for a few min he said the check was for an online payday loan and they would be willing to settle with me. He then stated that the loan was for 150 but i would have to pay him 1200 for a loan i never got at this point i knew some thing was fishy so i asked for him to send me a letter stating the charges he told me he would send me the information after i paid it in full. So i played along and asked where to make a payment and he told me to write all of my info on a paper and fax it with a copy of my id and all my credit card info with a copy of the card. I knew this was a scam i told him i would send it later in the day he called me back to back for about an hour then i told him i reported him to the real police and he hung up on me

I recevie a call a numerous amout of times from this number sayin i stole $30,000 from a cash advance place.They gave me the last four digits of my social security number and the last four digits of my pre-paid achieve card. They said they had proof that i took this money but would not tell me. Kept saying the police would be at my door if i didnt pay them $8,000!!!

I was given this number by a person saying it was Cashadvance.com. But after doing some research i found that Cashadvance's number is (800) 276-0070, at least thats the number i found on their website.

Indian Dialect - accused me of wrongdoing, and they will be coming after me.
Apparent scam, but they knew the last 4 digits of my SS# and bank account.  - This is a problem.

I got the same call, stating that I've broken the law and the foreign b*****ds are coming after me.  Obnoxious A-Hole.  Then he told me the last 4 digits of my bank account and SS#  - this concerns me.

I did too!  So do not answer them??   Does anyone know who they are calling from???

I just got a call too - do not answer these calls they are a SCAM.

Harrassing calls rom this number, Indian accent male.  Threatening "trial" and jail.