Been blowing up my phone today. I didn't answer cause I don't know anyone in California. Still no vm but I'm sure it will continue if what everyone is saying is true.

These calls from 323-513-0685 started in February and March, and now they are starting again from a new # 646-845-9577 ~ SOS ~ this is a complete violation of my privacy ~ since these calls are NOT even for me.  Cross post here for your edification

Alex called and left a msg for someone else.  My message very clearly states my name, yet he left personal financial and collection information on my msg for someone else, which is a very clear violoation of the FTC ~ Consumer Protection.  He hung up on me when I called, again, to notify him of this violation of someone else's rights.  I have placed at least 10 phone calls to these idiots ~ it is unbelievable to me how rude they are.  Any ideas on how to press further complaints against these folks?  I received the same BS msgs in February and March 5 and March 6th.  Called him then, after he hung up on me numerous times (as in about 10) ~ he finally took my call then and assured me I would not receive any more calls for this person.  I am all ears on how to stop these calls to me when they are NOT for me at all?

Alex Jones 646-845-9577 ~ the purpose of the call said it was regarding a legal case which is going to be filed against your name and with legal allegations being against this gal's name and regarding the last 4 digits of her social security, and said it was legal issues and taking legal action against her name, etc.  They also do sound like a scam and also as if they are from the Phillipines or India ~ they are always foreign when the call.  Also calling from Alex Jones 646-845-9577 ~ the purpose of the call said it was regarding a legal case which is going to be filed against your name and with legal allegations being against this gal's name and regarding the last 4 digits of her social security, and said it was legal issues and taking legal action against her name, etc.  They also do sound like a scam and also as if they are from the Phillipines or India ~ somewhere foreign.  Also calling from 323-513-0685 Justin Jones

right on as they said in the 80's. they just tried it on me. Something needs to be be done to the low life that they are.

What a bunch of crap from this number!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Couldn't get my name right, said he was from Legal affairs. Then when he was told over and over again that I didn't live here he finally said in his real thick accent " I don't want to talk to any more." Can't these people be arrested ? I'm ready to change my number. Those low life scamming jerks and I'm being nice.

My mom is receiving this same message on my phone. She does have a payday loan but it is current and up to date, and might I add in town not from California. These people are scamming people out of money and I will not allow them to do it to her!!

they called me as well stating that it was a payday loan that was never paid and used a company that i caught tryimg to scam me as well. what they didnt know was that i called the other company and informed them of the scam and that they need to check on it. i have been calling them.back and the guy said if i keep calling than he will sue me for harassment. these people are getting out of hand and they need to stop. someone needs go scam them

I also have received calls to cell phone & work numbers stating I owe monies for a cash advance I never paid.  Funny thing is that I just got this cell phone number, & haven't taken out any cash advances online.  When told they are a scam, they state that a sheriff will be delivering my paperwork tomorrow AM.  I told them to go ahead because that way when I report this they'll already be here to take my statement.

This number is not only calling my cell but now my work #.  And if you try calling it back to tell them to STOP calling you, it's a disconnected number yet I'm getting at least 8 to 10 calls from this number EVERY day!  I need this to STOP!

I have received 2 calls from them.  One they actually spoke to me the other was a very threatening message.  They say I took out a payday loan that I am defaulted in.  That they are going to contact the sheriff and issue an arrest warrant for me.  I researched payday loans on line and then almost immediately started receiving these calls.

I am receiving theating calls from this number that they are sueing me for a payday loan I did not get.  Won't tell me what the name of the company is.  Leaves horrible messages that I will receive ramifications for not paying this debt.  Very harrassing.

RECEIVED CALL FROM INDIAN MAN THAT I WAS BEING SUED. AND HAD I OBTAINED AN ATTORNEY? I ASKED WHAT IT WAS CONCERNING AND HE SAID THAT HE WAS ONLY A PARALEGAL AND THAT I HAD TO CALL THE ATTORNEY MICHAEL CRAWFORD RIGHT AWAY.
I LOOKED UP THE PHONE NUMBER HE CALLED FROM AND THANK GOODNESS I FOUND OUT THIS INFORMATION. CALLED THEM BACK AND TOLD THEM DON'T DARE CALL MT CELL PHONE AGAIN.

Can you sue these people for harrasment, because this is getting outrageous they keep calling from different numbers and im sick of it. I wish I reach through this phone and choke the breath out of them seriously.

I got the same call today I know this is a scam becuase I did apply for a pay day loan but never followed through becuase I got a tax refund so I never got a loan. But some asian said I was approved for 5k and pay 95 bucks a month but to show good faith pay them 100 bucks now to show I will pay on time. This is total scaming Dam should I close my bank account and open a new one and tell the bank. Do I contact the social security office about this? I hate scamers they need to be shot.

I have received threatening call from probably the same woman saying that I owe a debt that I know that I didn't take out this loan, I have also received calls from a non english man calling him self Kevin Watson from the simon law firm.  I hate to say I did wire some money to a guy name Adam Shorr only because it scared the hell out of me.  there will not be anymore money going to these theives.  These people need to be stopped.

lmao yes this indian guy tried to disguise his voice talking about his name james brown.. i told him james brown is dead!

Received 4 calls today, one at work and 3 on my cell. Answered the last one and couldn't understand "Danny Morris" when I asked what this was about he said he was just a para legal and couldn' t tell. He said I had to call this number (the same number he is calling me from) and speak with a Mr. Michael. When I asked if they had an 800 number he acted like I was crazy.

OK, I RECEIVE THE SAME MESSAGE.....AND I COULD BEARLY UNDERSTAND THIS GUT. WHEN I TRIED TO CALL THE NUMBER BACK IT SAY'S IT NOT A WORKING NUMBER....

Correction: A few weeks ago.

One leg of this scam was shut down years ago:

Even scam artists are outsourcing. On Tuesday in its first crackdown on fraudulent telemarketing in South Asia, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it was shutting down two California-based companies that used a call center in India to defraud Americans out of more than $5 million over the past two years.

Workers in India made threatening calls to Americans getting them to pay money on debts that they didn't owe, the FTC charges. At an FTC press conference in Chicago on Tuesday, fraud victim JanLaree DeJulius explained that she had received a call from someone claiming to be an enforcement officer from the (phony) "Federal Department of Crime and Prevention," who threatened to have her arrested and have her wages garnished if she didn't pay a bill of more than $730. The scam artists had gotten her name and information from a payday loan her ex-husband had taken out in her name.

"It was very embarrassing," Dejulius said. "He knew everything about me so I agreed to set up an installment." She is not alone. According to the FTC, more than 8 million calls were made since 2010 and at least 17,000 transactions processed across the United States related to the global scam.

On Tuesday under request from the FTC, a U.S. District Court in Chicago stopped the international operation, charging Varang K. Thaker and two companies he owned, American Credit Crunchers, LLC, and an affiliate Ebeeze, LLC, with violating the FTC Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

"This is a brazen operation based on pure fraud, and the FTC is committed to shutting it down," said David Vladeck, director of the FTC's consumer protection bureau. "Consumers should not be pressured into paying debt they don't remember owing. Legitimate debt collectors must provide consumers with both written information about the debt, and instructions for protecting themselves if they don't think they owe the debt."

According to the FTC's charges, Thaker used Social Security numbers and bank account numbers obtained from payday lenders to identify the victims for his scam. He outsourced the work to an Indian call center, where workers made threatening calls to American consumers to pay fake debt or collect on bills for which they were not authorized.

Thaker was not available when contacted by telephone on Tuesday. A woman who claimed to be Thaker's older sister and asked not to be named for privacy reasons said he is working with the FTC to help the Indian government pursue the fraudster call center operators. She also said he was innocent in the scam. "He was being used by somebody. He didn't even know where they got the information," she told The Huffington Post by phone. She said that her brother got 10 percent of the earnings from the scam operation.

The FTC charges against Thaker are the latest in a series of police actions by the government agency to put an end to rogue debt collection operations that have become more frequent in the aftermath of the Great Recession. In January, the FTC struck a $2.5-million settlement with debt-buying company Asset Acceptance, LLC, charging that the company had falsely represented itself to customers, including making up phantom debts that customers no longer owed. Last October, the FTC filed a complaint against seven other fraudulent debt collectors, alleging that they had engaged in the same techniques -- demanding money from customers who owed nothing at all.

The growing number of Americans who are unable to pay their bills has meant there are more companies looking to profit from their economic difficulties.

Debt collectors have been taking more aggressive tactics as fewer people are able to make ends meet or are in a cycle of debt. More than 30 million Americans are in debt collection, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Since 2010, more than 4,000 complaints have been filed with the FTC and state attorneys general about fraudulent debt collection calls, the FTC said.

Charles Junitkka, a personal bankruptcy attorney who represents clients in the New York City area, said, "In the last few years, the desperation of the collectors and their efforts have intensified because of the economy."

This story has been updated to reflect comment from a woman who says she is the sister of Varang Thaker. Thaker himself was unavailable for comment.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/21/ftc- ... _n_1289751.html

I received a threatening phone call from this number from a person calling himself Tony. He said that I had a lawsuit against me and that he needed my information or my attorney's information. This is a scam and I do not want to receive these phone calls anymore.

I am sick of tired when people that nearly speak English calling me telling me I have to call this number and I have to speak with Micheal something. stuff like this makes me so mad.

same thing happened to me i inquired of a pay day loan but i never went through with the loan. they called my house and now there calling me at my job and told me someone is filing a claim against my social security and that i had to call his attorny micheal carter. i called the number back its either busy or rings and hangs up. glad i came accross this website....

I recieved the same phone call as Office Manager listed above. They knew the name of my work and said a sheriff would be coming to arrest me for fraud "I received money under false pretenses" The whole payday advance thing that was never taken out. I tried to call back a couple hours later....the number is now disconected.I told them I was going to the sheriff to find out what was going on, it scared the hell out of me too.I gave no info.

I also received this call from the Legal Affairs Dept..... Said I was going to be served by the sheriff's dept at my work and they even called my work said I received a payday loan(which I never have) and I was breaking Federal Laws and should retain an attny. This is such BS. And yes! Neither of them spoke clear English. A lady called and said the guy i had to speak with name was Michael Carter.... The guy said his name was Michael Clark. I am so sick of this crap happening to honest Americans trying to make a living...I intend to follow this to the end. I am so mad!

Same thing happen to be today scared the crap out of me ... dont know what to do couldnt understand her but gave out no information

Some guy calling himself Kevin Costner (I thought he was dancing with wolves) who could barely speak English, left this number to call back.  You can't. Says he can't be responsible for what happens if I don't.

Got the same thing on my personal cell phone.. they also phoned my work. Weird.

Same as the other above i received a call on my cellphone from someone who barely spoke english threatening that i need  to call or have my lawyer call in, and if i didnt he said something about i'd be sorry. This is harassment... if someone calls ask for the debit in writing so you can verify the validity of it. This seems like a scam...

I was left a threating voicemail from this number also by a women who barely spoke english..i returned call and she would not tell me what it regarded..i never approved no payday loan or anything this is an outrage..who ever or what ever this is they should be made accountable

I had a very long, drawn out message from someone with a forgein accent giving me the same message as others have posted. Of course, the message was left at my work number, and it was for some person I don't know!