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

Just got a message from - said her name was Nicole (no mention of company name) and that she contacted my HR department already and action will be taken within 48 hours.  She said when I call back to reference a number.  When I called back (just wanted to see who was calling) got an answering machine that just said caller unavailable - no company name or anything.

Called and said action will be taken on me within 48 hrs. and they left a message with HR Dept. - no they did not and its against the law for them to contact the job as this was stated by the HR  Dept.

Have gotten several calls at work and on cell phone from this number stating my wages will be garnished within 48 hrs. because I haven't payed back a payday loan..Supposedly done over the internet(THIS IS A CLASS 6 FELONY IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA). I don't owe any money and have reported this to the FTC and FBI. Really, GET A REAL JOB!!!!!

have anyone got a call from caller id 972-624-6609 and when they give you a call back number they give you 855-624-6609 i think they say they are national credit adjusters a collection agency and say if you don't call back they will garnish your wages to pay back a padayloan. they also only say you have 30 minutes to call back before they sent your job a notice to garnish. i did not call back and they call me the next day.  i know they cannot do that unless they are federal gov. am i right