The best way to block this is either through your wireless provider (mine is Verizon and you can easily block up to 5 specific numbers for 2 months for free, and re-up the numbers after 2 months if necessary) or on your phone itself,  I do both - block at Verizon and on my phone (incoming calls limited to my contacts only) but messages can come through, since these scammers change numbers a lot, so it's hard to keep up.  Unfortunately these scam operations are overseas, so domestic US business practices regulated by the FCC are hard to enforce.  The consumer has to be wary as an individual and stop the annoying calls at their own phone to get any relief.

i got a phone call today from a indian man who told me that i needed to get an attorney. also he told me that i would be getting served papers at my job at 6:00 pm today, or i would be arrested. i told him that i never took  any pay day loans and hung up he got really nasty with me.

I just received a call from some Indian man who told me I need to get an attorney and call him or I will be arrested .I am not calling back and I am going to block this number he calling me from 916-245-0240 . He will not get any info from me

they are from ca. and calling people using threatening language as to intimidate and scam. report them at once even if they are a waste of time. we will shut them down in time.

I just had a call from him too  (16) 245-0240.  He left a message telling me to have my attorney call him back, and if he didn't hear back from me or the attorney, he wishes me luck with my situation.  I could hear other people in the background as well.  He said I needed to pay $498 to settle this before it goes to court, or I would be arrested tomorrow, I think he said at my job.  Either way I tried to get more information from him about who and he told me Cash Advance America.  Oh well, he had me nervous a little, as I have never been arrested for anything.  My nerves are still on edge yet.

The Indian guy that called me really upset me.  How heartless of him!  Does he have a conscience at all.  He needs to find God.

Yes, I received a phone call with exactly the same topic because I had gone to a website online and put in certain information.  He had an Indian accent and told me that I had taken out a loan with a company and when they went to get repayment from my bank there was no funds available.  At first I told him that he had got the wrong person but he read the last 4 digits of my social number back to me.  He told me that the police would be at my door with a summons and I would be arrested.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing because I have never been arrested before.  My blood pressure went straight to the roof.  He was basically calling me a criminal and told me he would have to notify my job also.  He told me to get an attorney or I had to pay $3,000 or so.  I had my attorney call him at the number he called me from and when she questioned him, he said be belonged to no law firm and represented noone.  He hung up on my attorney twice when she was trying to get information from him.  BIG SCAMMER.  What kind of heartless person does that to an innocent person?

I received a call from this number# 916-245-0240 and I could hardly hear him and he had an foreign accent and said I needed to have my region attorney of record call him back.He said this is a time sensitive matter and that his name was John Blythe.He also said dont disregard this message and return call now.If he does not hear from me and my attorney then he wished me good luck and the situation upon me.He said good bye and take care.This is not something that a company trying to get money would say.
   I didnt call him back and I would recommend not filling anything out with your personnal information online. There are alot of a*****oles out there that are scammers,its so sad to mess with people like that!

I got 2 calls from this number on Saturday May 25, 2013 no voicemails left.   My phone was in the other room charging so I did not check if for a while.  The 3rd call left a voicemail telling me or my attorney to contact them immediately.  I called back the number and the guy who answered (obviously from India) said he was attornery Edward Maxwell.  (The same guy had left the voicemail saying he was John Williams)  He stated that I had 3 criminal charges being filed against me and that I would be served papers on Monday (Which was Memorial Day).  I stated that Monday was a holiday and he became very angry said some very nasty things about my attitude and said I was lying about the holiday.  I tried to ask what company these charges where being filed from again hung up on me.  By this time I was pissed and kept calling him back and he would immediately hang up and not even answer.  When he finally did answer he told me to call him back on Monday May 27th and he would explain the changes.   So I called him back on Monday to find out the specifics and he told me he was going to read the charges and I was NOT to interupt him and he started spouting some legal crap.  I tried once again to find out what company these where stemming from and because I interupted him, he became very hateful screaming at me and I kept saying, "May I please ask one question?" and he told me I could not ask any questions because I had interupted him and I would receive papers by 6pm at my work.  I went into work today 5/28/13 and of course there was nothing there.  So I called him back, (more to just annoy him than anything) and he told me that the papers would be delivered today and that he never said Monday!!  Again very hateful and rude.  So I started peppering him with questions today and he finally said that I had called customer service.  So he first said he was a lawyer and then said he was customer service.  After I reported this number with the BBB, State and Federal Attorney's offices I made one final call.  He was so rude I wanted to punch his face through the phone.  I gave him the number of my lawyer and told him he could contact her himself and also told him that I had reported him.  No phone calls all day after that.  What an A***OLE!!!!  Don't take this crap from them, threaten him right back.

I just received two phone calls from this phone number just a couple of hours ago. The first phone call, I picked up and there was just dead air. After about five seconds, I hung up. The next call came a few minutes later. I recognized that it was the same number, so I "ignored" it. I noticed that he left a voicemail, and when I checked it, this is some of what was said: "This message is for Eric [last name]. I need you or your current lawyer to call me back as soon as possible. My phone number is 916-245-0240. If you or your lawyer do not call me back, I wish you good luck on your current situation. My name is Jake Watson." There was no company name given, no further details regarding my "current situation", and he had a thick Indian accent. I called him back immediately to find out what was going on, and when I did, the phone rang four times, then it beeped like a voicemail beep. So I just hung up. It's been over an hour since thus has occurred, and I haven't received anymore calls. My girlfriend and I talked about it, and we both believe that it's some type of scan. Please be aware, and if you pick up, DON'T GIVE THEM ANY OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION! Thank you for your time in reading this, and thank you to whomever posted this website.

I receieved a call from one of these guys telling me I have some lawsuits pending and he wanted attoeney information. I laughed in his face and told him to mail me whatever request he was looking for to my mailing address. Of course he wanted the info by phone so I googled his number read the post called him back after i filed a complaint with the FCC. He chose Edward Maxwell as his American Name.

I received 4 calls yesterday and 1 call this morning from this number.  I could barely understand him, but I did make out that I needed to return the call or my attorney did and that it was a very time sensitive matter. I couldn't make out much more than except words here and there.  It is sad that these numbers can contact us and try to threaten and scare us. It worked on me when I had another one call me, but not anymore.  I just google the number if I don't recognize it and go from there.  I haven't answered the calls or returned any of them and I am not going to!!

I received a phone call and was told he was from a law firm and the FBI and that I had a warrant against me. I immediately told him "no I do not" and asked him "do not call this number gain". He continued to call my house number and my cell number, leaving messages. At one point, he said my life was in danger, and that something bad was going to happen in the morning. He did not call back again.

I just got a call from Arabic could understand.said I need a attorney and I have 3 cases that they have on there desk.

I also just received a phone call from this number. 1. i could barely understand him. 2. he said his name was John Williams. it sounded a little weird. So we do know that this is a scam? How do we block this from not happening again?

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 from unscrupulous websites like the one you may have filled out an application with, 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.

ABC News released an investigative report on this scam in June. The FTC has indicted one of its ringleaders for criminal fraud:

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/phantom-debt-co ... 16512428&page=1

They called me saying I was having a
Federal warrent for my arrest for a payday loan that I never payed back. I never received a loan. They told me I had until noon to pay them about 500 dollars or I would be arrested. I had to pay the money with a pre paid credit card and my debit card would not do.