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 a year ago:

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

Hello,
Same here. I have been having issues for 2 months now against these criminals. I have filed a complaint in my own state of WI with attourney general. They do not stop, I have blocked the numbers and they just hack into another number and call. What's worse is now they are calling my place of employment and it has to stop.  They claim to be the California state attourneys office*they are getting smarter* before they just said an attourney. They claim to have charges against me and if I do not call them and give them my name and ssn#(like anyone is that stupid) they will hunt me down and find me and go to my mailing address and than they said they cant help if misfortune happens to me and good luck. I've had it with these calls. They stopped for a week after I kept blocking the numbers and started in yesterday calling my work and cell and today at 5am,6:30am and 7:30am. I have also filed a report with the California attourney general since they are using California like that. I will have to change my cell number but I cant get them to stop calling my work.

He called me saying a case was filed against me , then gave me my case # and i realized it was my bankcard # .they have NO right doing s*** like that . Someone stop them please!

the some thing is helping to me to a alex cooper is calling me I did not do not nothing why is these people trying to take money for hard works

REMEMBER THERE IS NO DEBTORS PRISON IN  AMERICA...

HERE IS A LINK TO THE TELEPHONE PROVIDER OF THAT NUMBER.     http://bandwidth.com/resources/legal/policy_violations.html   FILL OUT THE COMPLAINT FORM AND MAYBE WE CAN GET THESE JERKS TAKEN CARE OF

This is one of those rare time I will exclaim, THANK GOD FOR THE INTERNET!  I receive a similar call from a male with an Indian or Pakistani accent stating that I owed a a previous payday loan from Cash Advance and left messages on my office phone as well.  The message that was left was so unprofessional, I knew something was a bit crooked.  I called this number back and the person clearly read from a script stating that if I did not settle this debt that I would be arrested on my job.  First of all I never took out a loan three years ago and had I defaulted on a payment, the goons from my bank would have sent me a letter.  I know that even the most mean spirited debt collection agency will send one a letter before it advances to filing papers. Furthermore, a lawyer will not call you, he would have some assistant or secretary do that.  Kudos to all of you who have posted your information.  These idiots are going to get caught because they are not too bright.  Take care.

I received this call on 5- of may 2013....but they asked for my wife! I told the east indian he had the wrong number and that she was my wife, he then told me he was an attorney then changed it later and said he was a bill collector, when he figured out he slipped he got upset and told me the officers were going to pick her uo and hung up on me.
Anyways my wife recently went online to fill out applications for a job and since she lost her phone she put my cell # down. Since then ive received dozens of "loan" phone calls. So my conclusion is this, its a fraud and he should be reported to the police. Be careful what you share on the internet it could be identity theft with him getting our ss#.

I just received the same call today.  Saying the same thing about me being in trouble and only giving me the last four digits of my social security number.  I am thankful I found this website.

This man "mike wilson" is a predator and is trying to steal ss# don't believe him or gve him any info. If you get a call from him report immediately!!!

Same thing as all of you have reported - when I calle dhimon it - he broke out with a slew of swear words among other things!

A guy with a foreign accent (like from India) called my friend at her place of employment, where I work with her and he said she need to call him because it was about a legal matter and she needed to call him immediately, but when she called the number it just rang and rang then beeped and went silent. He also said he was with a law frim and his name was Michael Johnson. Such a liar... People like this need to be put under the jail!

This is nothing but a scam. They threaten you with arrest for some official sounding Federal charges. I let the guy read his script and then began to hem haw around with him. When I got tired of toying with him, I told him, "You need to practice your script better." After saying what I said, I had no problem understanding the cuss words coming out of his mouth. He had the audacity to ask me how he could do it better the next time, instead of letting me waste 13 minutes of his time. I laughed and he hung up. Poor, poor Indians from Ahmadebad.

Omg I got that same call but only that the guy name was Hebert gonzalia lol it's funny now but this people had me bout to pull my hair out so replyed to him and said well how much money did I receive from this company that's complaining on me and I didn't get a answer so well he was on the phone I called my local police department on three way while the guy was still talking so then the officer replyed to the guy n stated that he had the police department out side the hotel room where he was but then the guy say stop playing n just pay 2,000 dollars And my name would be cleared so then the officer advices me  to hang up n don't answer anymore calls from this people but with that said and done y'all it's really sad that people have nothing else to do but lie n try n put people lives in a bond because they want get off there a** and find a real job

The same thing happened to me -- echo phone call.  Threatened to send the sheriff after me if I didn't give them $450 in an hour.  Very white names, thick Pakistani accents, and yes,impersonating  a government official.

Like everyone else, I have received a call from this number 3 times and it is a foreign guy but he is calling himself Michael Brown. He is also says he needs myself or my attorney to call in regarding a serious matter. I also called the number back and all it does is ring then beep. I do not know anyone in California.

I have received numerous calls from this guy and he called MY JOB and let a message. I called him back and told him to call my work is unacceptable. He said it may be unacceptable to you, but it is to us. I said give me your companies name I'm filing a complaint with the BBB. He said you're going to file a complaint, I'm with the attorney generals office. Now, I know each STATE has its own attorney general's office and he is in Cali. I live in Ohio. Immediately, I know he is full of it. He proceeded to call me whor* and bi*ch. I asked for his manager and he kept screaming who*e. I called back three times after I hung up and it went to voice mail with NO message. I'm SO highly upset. I'm going to find a way to report him.

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

i had just receved a call and they stated that the sheriffs were on there way on there way to arrest me and i was going to jail for 6 months so i had reported it to my attorney and they stated to tell them that i was reporting them to the law enforcement

I recieved a call at my home and this person was very rude and heartless i was told there was a warrent for my arrest if i did not pay ,and then i was going to be sued i also sent money on a greendot money pak which he told me to purchase at radio shack and then the very next morning he called back again wanting me to send more money but i didnt.How can anyone do such a horrible act of scam to a disabled human being.i need my money back .916-304-3835 if anyone ever calls u from this number its a scam.

This fool called me at WORK..How the hell did they get my info? and gave me the same talk & about a warrant out for my arrest...Told him to never EVER call me again

Our payroll department transferred a call to me from a heavily accented Indian/Pakistani person named John Williams, when he demanded the address of one of our off-site employees.  He stated he worked for an attorney (although very hard to understand) and that our employee committed fraud.

Needless to say I did not give John Williams any information, but agreed to relay the message to our employee with his contact information 916-304-3835.  I asked him the name of ;his law firm, he said John A Best.  

When I Googled John A Best, I saw that there was a notice on his website that his name was being fraudulently used in a collections SCAM in California and a complaint has been filed with the FTC.

Phantom Debt Collectors From India Harass Americans, Demand Money

By BRIAN ROSS (@brianross) , CINDY GALLI and MATTHEW MOSK (@mattmosk)
June 7, 2012

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 was 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.

"If Mr. Patel was just a cog in the wheel he seems to have been a pretty big cog," Leibowitz said. "It is clear that Patel was integrally involved with this scam."

Leibowitz points to thousands of pages of financial and phone records gathered by the FTC and filed as part of a civil case brought against him in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento last month. When FTC lawyers sought to freeze his assets and prevent his business from continuing to operate, Patel responded by invoking his rights against self-incrimination. His lawyer told ABC News he has had to be careful in how he responds to the allegations in civil court "because there is a potential criminal action," but that Patel maintains the allegations against him are false.

Federal investigators said the phantom debt collection operation that allegedly benefitted from Patel's assistance was one of several that all trace back to the same small town in Western India called Ahmedabad. Callers use technology to make it appear that the calls originate inside the U.S. Victims provided ABC News with recordings of dozens of the calls, and many of the thickly accented callers appear to be reading off a script.

"Subpoenas have been readied, and Monday morning you're going to be picked up from your home," one caller says on a victim's voicemail. "And you have children. Don't worry about your children. We have a childcare department to take care of the children."

"You will be behind bars for six months," said another caller. "And once you go behind bars, you will lose your job. Once you are behind the bars, you won't get a single drop of water."

William Peerce Howard, a Tampa attorney who represents victims of harassment from debt collectors, said it takes an especially twisted criminal to use threats and coercion to pry money from someone who is already struggling financially

"These guys really are the most visible villains in America today," he said. "They make a living scaring people."

Mark Merola, of Florida, said he just panicked when the caller told him he might be arrested at the deli where he works in a Florida retirement community.

"I was nervous. I didn't want to embarrass myself, my family," he said. He used his debit card to pay the collector $576.

Afterwards, he says he realized "how stupid I was."

"It just happened so fast," he said. "I got scared."

Leibowitz said he hopes with more attention, future potential targets of the scam will recognize red flags before they turn over any money.

If callers say they are from the police, consumers should know that law enforcement officers do not collect debt for private parties. If the caller is speaking with a thick Indian accent, but calls themselves by a names such as Officer Mike Johnson, that should be a tip off. And if they're calling 40 times in two hours, that's another red flag. "Legitimate debt collectors, legitimate pay day lenders don't do those sorts of things," he said.

Merola said he would like to see anyone involved in the scam prosecuted aggressively.

"There's no place in society for these people," he said.

Hello,

I received a phone call from that number. He's name was Damian Marshall. He said the I got a payday loan and that he's going to sue me for not paying back. He said I need to pay 750 within one hour or else I'm going to jail for 6 months. He has all my information. Now when I called his number back I pretend I was an attorney then he hunted up on me. This is a freakin scam!!!!!

It is a scam:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/10/americancredit.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/02/acc.shtm
http://www.insidearm.com/daily/collection-law ... g-out-of-india/

THE MAN CALLING STATED HIS NAME WAS PAUL MARTIN (HE HAS A HEAVY INDIAN/HISPANIC ACCENT).  STATED THAT HE WAS FROM THE STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE (EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN'T STATE WHICH STATE).  HE CONTINUED TO SAY THAT I HAD MULTIPLE JUDGEMENTS FILED AGAINTS MY SS# IN MULTIPLE STATES.  THEN HE STATED THAT SOMEONE (COULDN'T UNDERSTAND THE BROKEN ENGLISH HE USED) WOULD COME TO MY PLACE OF BUSINESS AND THEY WOULD NOT BE RESPONSIBLE IF I LOST MY JOB.

THE MAN CALLING STATED HIS NAME WAS PAUL MARTIN (HE HAS A HEAVY INDIAN/HISPANIC ACCENT).  STATED THAT HE WAS FROM THE STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE (EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN'T STATE WHICH STATE), AND CONTINUED TO SAY THAT I HAD MULTIPLE JUDGEMENTS FILED AGAINTS MY SS# IN MULTIPLE STATES.  THEN HE STATED THAT SOMEONE (COULDN'T UNDERSTAND THE BROKEN ENGLISH) WOULD COME TO MY PLACE OF BUSINESS AND THEY WOULD NOT BE RESPONSIBLE IF I LOST MY JOB.

I received a call from this number to my place of employment.  I received a message on my phone from a man that sounded like he was from India or something of that nature. He stated that I had complaints against me and that he needed to speak to my attorney and that I needed to call back immediately. I spammed the message and hopefully they will not call me again.

I contacted The company that runs their Service Provider and let them know about the Fraud Going on and Impersonating a State Official Company and to rectify the situation.

I'm sure the Service Provider Does not want to go down with that company.

I hope this helps us all out atleast for a certain time frame.

I just also recieved a call from (916)304-3835 they changed the name now to Tom Kent and I have never heard of someone with an India Accent with a white name like that. They also called my job and when I called back they asked for the number they called and then was on hold too long and I said f-it and hung up