Although the tactic used is a bit outrageous, These debts are legit!!! these loans were originated 9 out of 10 times by the person contacted or someone who had access to their personal information. These are debt collectors that have purchased this debt from the original creditors once the deem the accounts noncollectable. Can you be arrested? No. Are these felony charges? in most instances the answer is know however if you went into a store front and handed them a physical check as collateral they may pursuit you criminally as this in malicious intent to defraud a financial institution.Bottom line  No one should be calling you pretending to be an attorney or such but this is legitimate debt. Unfortunately when these people call debtors as collectors they are less likely to get cooperation so the decide to go hard and scare you into paying off your debt.

The same people called me on Friday I just gave them fake info and checked with the people they said were involved and they advised me that this was a scam and then I saw the post and realized it is a scam

I received a call from Angela Briggs, attorney for Johnson and Associates from 512-541-1211, saying they were investigating an individual with 2 felony counts and his name was associated with us. They wanted our help to track him and help them with the investigation. They wanted a telephone number, contact info or the last 4 digits of the SSN of this individual who is supposed to be related to us! I refused and told them that I would pass on their information to this individual and after a very unpleasant  and intimidating conversation from their part, I just put the phone down.

Obviously this scam group has access to a number of phone numbers which they use since this number is different from the 917 number that is posted at the top of this page. To an unsuspecting individual this is quite frightening.

I recieved a call from 917-336-6269 and the gentleman stated that his name was investigator Glenn Johnson at ext: 7017 and that he wanted to discuss a very important legal matter with me. I did not call the number back until I googled to see if it was a scam. I completely do not understand how these people get out numbers, you know that our information is suppose to be so protected in the United States and here we have people from over seas taking our identity. They scare us so bad that we cry, spend time stressing out thinking that it really is going to happen, what do we get out of this nothing but a headache and harrasment every second of the day

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.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0258-fake-debt-collectors

This "fraud investigator" from Johnson & Associates is blowing my cell phone up. He says he is investigating charges if fraud against me. I asked for the name and address of his company. He said he cannot discuss that with me. He asked me to hold for the attorney handling my case. I told him if he couldn't give me an address, I could not discuss anything with his "attorney". I have never applied for or gotten a payday loan. I told him he was a scammer. He said that was far from the truth and that I was not being cooperative. I hung up. I am tired of being harassed.

I just got the same phone call about 4-5 hours ago almost verbatim to what you said, I also did not verify any information with them and told them I have never taken out a pay day loan. When I told her I was recording the conversation and I have a friend that is a police officer that was going to look into this matter she hung up on me. What will they think of next. Frustrating to have to waste time on people like this but also scary that they have gotten our information, so I have put fraud alert and contacted my bakk now to keep these people from stealing anything else!!!

I got a called today from 917-336-6269.  Said his name was James Taylor and he was an investigator for the firm of Johnson and Associates, he asked me to hold for the attorney handling my case, her name was Angela Briggs she wanted me to verify my information which I refused all I told her was my name and she said her firm had been hired to press felony charges against me for some kind of loan I had made and hadn't repaid I told her that I needed her company name and spelling their address and documentation about the loan,  she told me she couldn't give me any information about her company and because I refused to give her any of my information she said that they would be filing criminal charges against me.  I told her that since she was refusing to give me any information about her and the company that she worked for that she could do what she had to do and I looked forward to seeing her in Court.  She wanted to also know if I could afford a criminal attorney and I told her that I wouldn't need one but she would.

Yes, there is. Let them know you have been targeted by an international extortion scam. Print off this thread and give it to them. If that does not work, get a labor law attorney and go after them for unlawful termination.

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 ... ory?id=16512428

These a***oles called me at my place of employment And left a message to my supervisor about possibly felony charges and I work at a call center and its my first 90 days so I got terminated. This scam lost me the best job of my entire life and there seems like there is not a damn thing I can do about it.

I just received a very odd call. They claim I took out a payday loan on line 5 years ago and if I didn't pay them in full today by 4:30pm they were turning it over to the states attorneys office and filing 2 felony charges against me. When I asked them to send me the paperwork regarding said loan, they got belligerent. I asked how the loan was given and they said on line and the money was direct deposited in my account. I then told them I haven't had a bank account in 10 years and 5 years ago I didn't have internet access much less a computer to apply for a loan (true, btw). I then asked to speak to their fraud department because obviously someone took out a loan in my name. They said they didn't have one and that it was an open and shut case against me and I can pay up or go to prison. Being a smart girl, I informed them that the only crime that had been committed was that someone stolen my information and if they could please send me any information regarding this loan I would give it to the police myself and to my attorney. I then told them that even if I had taken out the loan and not repaid it, it still wasn't a criminal offense. It was a civil matter and they could sue me if they wish but they would have to provide documentation proving I received the loan. They then hung up on me
Read more at http://www.whycall.me/917-336-6269.html#zKDrR6lP4BMPkt68.99

Yep, they called me and said I would be arrested for 2 felony accounts if I didn't pay them. I didn't take out the loan and asked for the proof that I did and they got belligerent. Wouldn't tell me how much I owed, wouldn't send in any paperwork, and when I told them I was calling the police to report that my identity had been stolen, they hung up on me.

Scammmmmm!!!!!!! They try to scare you saying you owe money to a payday loan service. Ask them for a copy of your original loan agreement with the company....they will stop calling. Read up on your legal rights when vb it comes to debt collectors...know your rights and its easy to determine if they are actual collectors or scams like this one.