I called the attorney's office in one state when I got one of these scam calls. Obviously lots of people are calling and the
woman on the phone was not too pleasant when she told me that they had nothing to do with the calls. I'm sure they don't want to be bothered once again. These people just want to get scared people to give them money. If they actually were legit don't you think they would have some one who could actually speak the language without messing up as bad as he did? Desperate thieves!

This is a criminal extortion scam operating out of India. They are making the calls utilizing VOIP and the names of legitimate firms to make it appear the calls are originating from within the US. There is NO "company" or "debt" and you will NOT be arrested. They are harvesting and/or buying consumers' personal identifying information and you need to do whatever you can to protect yourself. This includes: Notifying the FTC: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/, placing fraud alerts with all three credit bureaus, notifying your bank and employer and letting these criminals know you are aware they are attempting to extort money for a non-existent debt and have alerted the authorities.

The man sounded like he had a mouth full of marbles. I understood my name, attorney's office, arrested tomorrow and social security number. This is some lame crap.

Same calls today from john williams  claiming to be from Attorney Generals office. How can I call AG office to verify?

I got the same message today from and Indian man with a strong accent as well.  Saying I will be arrested tomorrow at my residence. I did take a loan but paid it back. Also last week a message was left by a Allen Paul claiming there's a warrant for me in the town I live and to call the plaintiff. If there's a warrant your generally not calling the plaintiff.

This site was very useful.  It was a indian voice & as soon as i told them that i new this # was a scam they hung up on me.lol

I would like to know how these people are getting a person's phone number when that person is on the Do Not Call list. Wished that there was a way to put a stop to them.

A guy called me today and told me that I had legal actions against me and he needed my social security number. I asked him to repeat what he just told me again. I told him that I was not giving him my social security number and it was a Scam and not to call me back or I would report him. I hung up on him.

I received the same phone call and have it recorded on my phone.  I would love to go in with you on a lawsuit!  I am sick of these people bothering me at work and home.  I have filed numerous reports with the FTC, but I just keep getting calls.   I too have told them to come on, because I am sure the sheriff's office would be glad to meet them too!  Please let me know my steps to stopping this harassment.

Thank you for the phone number to the AG's office. I got the same message from 888-851-4118, and was told that I have charges pending against my ss#.
and would be arrested at my place of business if I didn't take care of it over the phone. I told him to send the police. No one ever showed, but i get harassed at least 3x a day by this man. I will call that number to report him. Thank You again. I feel sorry for the old people who get caught up in messes like that.

I too received calls from John William the attorney in Austin Texas both at home and at work.  I returned his call today and after being hung up on twice I explained that his company had made the mistake of calling an actual attorney with their BS scam messages that are now recorded.  I heard them whisper "Attorney!  Attorney!" to each other and then try to tell me I would be getting arrested.  Mind you I did not give my name and called from a private number.  I demanded their address to have MY lawsuit against them delivered and served to them, and magically the call cut off again.  I will continue to pursue this fraudulent operation as now they have broken multiple FTC and do not call laws and regulations.  Can't wait to meet you, Mr. William!!!

Received a wierd message on work voicemail but could not understand anything the man was saying except his name was JOHN WILLIAMS; Very heavy accent and said he was an attorney calling from Attorney General office. Could not understand message but received telephone number from voice caller id on phone. Tried to call back but does not ring and then goes to a wierd mailbox extention.

This is a criminal extortion scam operating out of India. They are making the calls utilizing VOIP and the names of legitimate firms to make it appear the calls are originating from within the US. There is NO "company" or "debt" and you will NOT be arrested. They are harvesting and/or buying consumers' personal identifying information and you need to do whatever you can to protect yourself. This includes: Notifying the FTC: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/, placing fraud alerts with all three credit bureaus, notifying your bank and employer and letting these criminals know you are aware they are attempting to extort money for a non-existent debt and have alerted the authorities.

Read this investigative report ABC News did on this scam:

Hundreds of thousands of cash-strapped Americans have been targeted by abusive debt collectors operating out of overseas call centers suspected of links to organized crime in India, law enforcement officials told ABC News.

The calls are part of a massive scam, one that appears to target struggling Americans -- especially those who have gone online to apply for payday loans. Armed with personal information from those pilfered applications, the threatening callers, who claim to be debt collectors poised to initiate legal action, have managed to pry loose millions of dollars from their victims -- even when the victims never owed money in the first place.

"This is what we call a phantom debt collection scam," said Jon Leibowitz, the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. "It's a very pernicious and innovative new fraud."

Working through call centers in India, the commission estimates that the criminals have dialed at least 2.5 million calls, persuading already cash-strapped victims to send them more than $5 million. Some have reported receiving dozens of calls per hour. They are victims like Cindy Gervais, of New Orleans, who went online for a quick loan when her husband's car was hit by a driver who didn't have insurance.

Even though she paid the loan off, the so-called "phantom" debt collectors with Indian accents began calling to say she still owed money.

"He more or less told me that if I didn't pay, they were going to have someone on my doorstep to arrest me," she told ABC News. "And that they were going to contact my place of business, and tell them what kind of person I am."

At first, she said she resisted. Then the calls became more frequent, and started to ring on her cell phone, and at the grocery distribution company where she had worked for 27 years.

"I was more or less in panic mode because he told me there would be someone before noon at my place of business to arrest me and take me to jail," she said tearfully. "So I agreed to pay him."

After receiving scores of complaints, investigators with the FTC said they began tracking the calls, and following the payments. They alleged the payments led them to a California company run by an Indian-American named Kirit Patel, and that such scams would not be possible without American front men.

"I would say that all roads of this scam, or many of the roads of this scam, lead back to Mr. Patel," said the FTC's Leibowitz.

ABC News tracked Patel for weeks, from the suburbs of San Francisco to Austin, Texas.

Patel refused to talk. But his lawyer, Mark Ellis, said he believes it is far too early to pass judgment on his client. Ellis, a Sacramento-based attorney, told ABC News that Patel was hired for a nominal fee to set up an American shell company, and had no idea what the call centers in India were doing.

"I can tell you, he was as snookered by the people in India as anybody," Ellis said. "He's a 69-year-old man who is nearing his retirement who thought all he had to do was set up some corporations and everything was on the up and up. He's completely dismayed that he has become the lightning rod of this entire problem."

A close friend of Patel's also defended him in a brief interview at his home, saying Patel was not trying to defraud anyone -- he was just an unwitting, bit player in a larger scheme.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/phantom-debt-co ... ory?id=16512428

My wife received the same phone call today. He said he was with the Attorney Generals office in Texas. I called the AG's office and they confirmed it was a scam. Please call 855-411-2372 to report him. I did.

This number kept calling me over and over. I finally answered and the dude claimed to have a case against me, and said I would be arrested tomorrow. Upon further conversation with this guy (who went by the name "John Williams", but had an extremely hard to understand indian accent), he claimed I took some cash advance online and never paid it back. I have never taken a cash advance in my life (in a store or online), so of course I told the dude he was wrong. He kept pestering me with it, so I finally told him off (in a "formal" matter, if you catch my drift). He hesitated then said "ok whatever", and hasn't called back since.

When I listened to the message about 3 times to figure out what he was saying he told me that I was going to be arrested tomorrow.  Who is going to tell you that your going to be arrested.  SCAM!  Did say the company only have the number off of my caller id which is 1-888-851-4118

Told me I owed money for a loan in Texas and I have never.lived in texas

Could barely understand him, sayin I have charges pending against my ss#, owed sumone for a loan that I got with no intentions of payin it back, and if I had an an attorney just crazy stuff, I have no clue as to what he was talkin about n I tried to tell him that he got very rude n said to me, f*** you, so I just hung up...but they have called back 7 times today since 2pm, very annoying.

In my opinion, any caller who refuses to identify themselves is definitely not legitimate - or at best, shady.

Edit:  According to Spokeo.com - this number is flagged as a telemarketer, with numerous complaints on several sites.  Link is here: http://www.spokeo.com/888-851-telemarketers

caller refuses to id self