I kept receiving this same call-like an attorney in California is going to be answering his own phone at 6AM PDT...uh, yeah, that's right..NOT. SCAM, SCAM, SCAM...DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY

Just got a call from a woman with the strongest India accent saying I had three criminal charges pending against me. She told me to call this number immediately (415) 952-5532 and speak to her senior lawyer Damon Marshall who was handleing the case! I had applied for a payday loan on line about 2 weeks ago and then did not accept the funds cause I got tons of offers from other companies on line and went about unscribeing from each and every one of the companies. Took me three days to unscribe from of all the e-mails from those companies! Pain in the butt! Thank god for the internet cause I plugged in the name Damon Marshall attonery and this showed up! I gained at least 100 more gray hairs and just about had a heart attack because of that call of criminal charges against me! Couldn't figure out what charges could possibly be against me! Until I read the statements you all wrote (Thank You)! All I can say is NEVER APPLY FOR A LOAN ON LINE!!!   THANK YOU AGAIN PEOPLE FOR YOUR STATEMENTS!!!

The FTC is trying. The only problem is--they have no jurisdiction to prosecute the criminals operating this extortion scam in Ahmedabad, India--only those funneling money to them in the US, as evidenced by this news report:

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.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/phantom-debt-co ... 16512428&page=2

My call did not come from 415-259-5028. It came from 951-468-5357. A woman with a strong east India dilect called first telling me criminal charges are being filed on me and I need to call atty. Damon Marshall right a way. I called this man who was very rude and yelled at me telling me I had to wire him $645 before noon or he was calling the police to have me picked up and put in jail. I was so upset. After thinking about it after he hung up, I realized that I had never taken out a payday loan with the company he mentioned. I called him back to get more info.  He got very nasty and told me police are on the way. I kept trying to get loan numbers and when loan was taken out.  He could not give me any info.  The scary thing about this situation is he had a lot of my personal info, even my mothers maiden name. Where are they getting this information from? When someone tells you they will take your wages or ss from you, it really lets you think about how busy these crooks are trying to destroy peoples lives.  The law and the government need to get busy and stop them.

This man called me AT WORK, I can barely understand him, asking me if I had an attorney. Tells me about criminal charges. He calls me back tonight and gives me the number for Damon Marshall...it just happened to be the SAME number. What a scam...thank you all for this post. I applied for a loan but was denied. iI owe nothing.

yeah i just was victom today i wish i can find out how to catch him, any ideas?

Please do something about this scammer. He scares people into sending him money and says if they don't they will be arrested. he only gives them a short time period like 30 minutes to get the money to him before the Police show up at their house or work.

Hello this person calls and threatens jail time for some unpaid bill. then he has a fake police officer to call and tells you that he is coming to take you to jail and to be home. He tries to extort money in the $1,000's from you.

I received several calls and voicemails too. Can you please email me if you have any information
cecypgtz@gmail.com
Thanks

This number has called me twice now, same story as everyone elses. Told me sheriff was coming today if I didn't pay. I told him I am still waiting from last time he said that and go ahead I will be waiting with my hands behind my back, I need a break from all my house duties......Needless to say he hung up on me....LOL.....So sad people are out there doing this to people, who knows what elderly person may be out there that will get scared and pay, and they will have no problem taking advantage of......

Hey the same thing happened to me as well. Email with your info and I would like to talk to you about this in further detail. I called the FBI. My email is laura.carnell@yahoo.com.Any one else that would like to talk about this call me. I have a plan on how to catch these scammers. Just send me an email and we can go from there.

Consumers across the country report that they're getting telephone calls from people trying to collect on loans the consumers never received or on loans they did receive but for amounts they do not owe. Others are receiving calls from people seeking to recover on loans consumers received but where the creditors never authorized the callers to collect for them. So what's the story?

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.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt076.shtm

This guy said he was calling because I owed money. I asked him to whom do I owe? He said he didnt have that info I would have to call Dameon Marshall and he gave me the number. I tried calling back but there was no answer. My husband has been bothered by this type of call before and I started calling them back and bugging them. These people wont answer the phone.

I got the same person along with a few others . All American names all sounding foreign
And from numbers from my ca mass nj

I just got the same call I got very mad and told them the last call I got like this was a scam and that my husband who I said is a judge would likd to talk to them and the line went dead.  I then called this Damon Marshall who had my e-mail address and cell phone # stated that I am going to be arrested on Monday at work and said that cash advance was charging me with crimal offence.  Funny thing I once applied for a loan with them and was denied.  This is a total scam.

I got the same call this morning. So what now?  I called my local law enforcement and reported the bogus call, as well as giving the real officer the phone number.  What next?  I'm not worried about my finances ,  what I'd like to do is punch these tools in the face.

This number has called my cell phone and my job.  This must STOP now!

this person also called my job leaving messages he has me ssn he stated to me my last 4....creeps me out.how did he get my info and what can i do to stop this...from a (415)259-5028 number

You can block their emails.

Got two calls another on today !! saying he was Officer Brian Johnson and I have criminal charges against me with my SS # -  and to call Damon Marshall !LOL FREAKS ! Im thinking they dont have our SS# and are trying to get it that way - I called Officer Brian A few chioce words - told him he ws going down and that i had already called the police and he hung up !  lol  should i really call the police ??

I got a call from Calvin Peterson.He left a message that said  I had criminal charges against me.He was sending a investagator to my home.I have tried calling back and can not get an answer from their end.He has my name,unlisted phone no.s.s# and address.Now what?

Just tell them you'll be home just send the investigator and you'll talk to them when they get to where you are ( THEY of course won't send anyone)

Extortion Scam Related to Delinquent Payday Loans

Washington, D.C.
December 07, 2010  FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691

? filed under: Press Release
The Internet Crime Complaint Center has received many complaints from victims of payday loan telephone collection scams. Callers claim the victim is delinquent in a payday loan and must repay the loan to avoid legal consequences. The callers purport to be representatives of the FBI, Federal Legislative Department, various law firms, or other legitimate-sounding agencies. They claim to be collecting debts for companies such as United Cash Advance, U.S. Cash Advance, U.S. Cash Net, and other Internet check-cashing services.

According to complaints received from the public, the callers have accurate data about victims, including Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, employer information, bank account numbers, and the names and telephone numbers of relatives and friends. How the fraudsters obtained the personal information varies, but in some cases victims have reported they completed online applications for other loans or credit cards before the calls started.

The fraudsters relentlessly call the victim?s home, cell phone, and place of employment. They refuse to provide any details about the alleged payday loans and become abusive when questioned. The callers have threatened victims with legal actions, arrests, and, in some cases, physical violence if they do not pay. In many cases, the callers harass victims? relatives, friends, and employers.

Some fraudsters have instructed victims to fax a statement agreeing to pay a certain amount, on a specific date, via a pre-paid Visa card. The statement further declares the victim will never dispute the debt.

If you receive these calls, do not follow the caller?s instructions. Rather, you should:

?Notify your banking institutions.
?Contact the three major credit bureaus and request an alert be put on your file.
?Contact your local law enforcement agencies if you feel you are in immediate danger.
?File a complaint at www.IC3.gov.
Tips to avoid becoming a victim of this scam:

?Never give your Social Security number?or personal information of any kind?over the telephone or online unless you initiate the contact.
?Be suspicious of any e-mail with urgent requests for personal financial information. The e-mail may include upsetting or exciting but false statements to get you to react immediately.
?Avoid filling out forms in e-mail messages that request personal information.
?Ensure that your browser is up-to-date and security patches have been applied.
?Check your bank, credit, and debit card statements regularly to make sure that there are no unauthorized transactions. If anything looks suspicious, contact your bank and all card issuers.
?When you contact companies, use numbers provided on the back of cards or statements

http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/paydayloanscam_120710

This person just called me at 7:00 this morning! who is up at 4 in the morning in california trying to tell me im going to jail!???  This guy had an indian accent as well and said his name very slowly like he was just making it up as he was going along. "younce" said he was with the Law Office of John Anderson. He stated that i had 3 charges being filed against me by cash Advance, which i have never taken a loan from. He knew my email address and my employer. i have checked into check advance online but never completed the application or accepted any money. I think this is how they are getting my info. He stated they were going to come to my employer today and will be arrested. These people need to be investigated if they are getting so many people involved.

I received 3 calls from this number.  They also knew my home address & social security no.  They threaten to come to my house and to contact my employer.  These scammers also have my email address & have been sending threatening messages.  I am going to report them to the AG but if it continues I may have to change my email add & possibly  my cell phone #.  They are relentless and speak with an Indian accent.

This person called me with my social security number and address and threatened to contact my employer about some criminal charges on my social security number?

this person has been threating me. saying i owe a payday loan. This person is  a scam and we all need to report this person. Has all my info!

KEEP THE NUMBER GUYS AND THEN WE SHOULD ALL MAKE FUN OF THEM. GET ONE OF THOSE APPS THAT CAN BLOCK YOUR # WHEN YOU CALL. PRANK CALL THEM... IGNORE IDIOTS. THEY JUST NEED LIFE. THEY HAVE A MIDDLE EAST ACCENT, WHO TRIES TO SCAM US... WHATEVER YOU DO. DON'T GIVE THEM ANY CHANCE OR NEVER ANSWER THEIR QUESTIONS. WHAT THEY ARE TRYING TO DO ARE TO CONFIRM IF THE INFO THEY HAVE ARE ALL CORRECT. IF THEY ASK ANYTHING, JUST HANG UP. IF THEY KEEP CALLING, GET A RECORDER AND RECORD THEIR VOICE. LET THEM BE RUDE TO YOU. CHILL AND MAKE FUN OF THEM...

This number called my place of employment, making threats. They did not speak directly to me, but still verbally threatened me with prison time.

Received voicemail today.  then he went on to say they were going to send investigators to my address... And he knew my address and my social security number.  He says that someone has been charged with a criminal charge under of SS#.  A little weirded out by who this is and why they have that info.