646-569-9039
NY, US
 | carina 2012-08-21 20:59:16 Unknown |
I got a voice mail for some guy he had a heavy accent and said that it was important that if i didn't call back that i was going to get arrested and lose my job and that i needed to get an attorney because i was going to get arrested and that they wish me luck because i wont even imagine what they were going to do they also started calling my job and started harassing me at work when i asked them what it was about they didn't know what to tell me all they said was that i need to get my attorneys badge number so they can contact him/her when i looked up the phone number i realized it was a scam so please don't be afraid of these ppl its a scam.
| Jackie 2012-08-20 19:48:41 Unknown |
Indian accent - says he is calling about a legal matter in florida. He harasses me at work, and I have referred him to our protection department.
He says his name is James Barker, but will not give me any information without me offering information, which I will not do.
I have gone thru this before(several months ago), same person, different name. I cancelled my home phone land line and got another cell phone.
He now has the new cell phone number, but I ignore those calls.
Calls at work are more difficult to ignore, when I am not the one answering the phone.
This seems to correspond with illegal withdrawals from my checking account that are fraudulent and handled by my bank.
He says his name is James Barker, but will not give me any information without me offering information, which I will not do.
I have gone thru this before(several months ago), same person, different name. I cancelled my home phone land line and got another cell phone.
He now has the new cell phone number, but I ignore those calls.
Calls at work are more difficult to ignore, when I am not the one answering the phone.
This seems to correspond with illegal withdrawals from my checking account that are fraudulent and handled by my bank.
| faye 2012-08-16 14:09:53 Unknown |
got calls saying i owe money would not tell me who the creditor was later i looked up information online and the names gregory and mary sheppard came up with a address out of Albany,NY under another number they used to call me with the same message that i owe money and being sued and the english was hard to understand the other number was 518-478-2337
| Alfalfa 2012-08-15 19:50:50 Unknown |
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.Call Type: Debt Collector
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.Call Type: Debt Collector
| Wendy 2012-08-15 19:48:36 Unknown |
Also the guy spoke very broken english like India or something along that lines and when I asked for a supervisor he said they all went home and hung up on me.
| Wendy 2012-08-15 19:46:15 Debt Collector |
They called today and harassed me and wouldn't even tell me what the debt was for. I called the attorney general office and they told me it was a scam. Don't fall for there abusive tactics.
| Destiny hurtt 2012-08-11 16:13:42 Unknown |
This man keeps calling my phone in a deep Indian accent saying his name is rogan spencer , saying he is going to take legal action on my fiancé, who has been incarsarated
. I remember this mans voice before he tried to call to get us to take out a loan and we wouldn't do it. So therefore he is harassing me.
. I remember this mans voice before he tried to call to get us to take out a loan and we wouldn't do it. So therefore he is harassing me.
| Ann 2012-08-07 12:46:34 Debt Collector |
The same person called my work phone and had all of my information. Home address, work number, home number, social security number. threaten me that I would lose my job and get arrested. Laughed at him. he got angry. has very thick Indian accent. it is a scam.
| Me 2012-08-06 23:00:11 Unknown |
I got a call from this t**** head that said I had a $498 loan. I dont have any loans. I dont have the credit to have any loans. He told me that I needed a lawyer for tomorrow. That I had to go to court. He was very rude telling me that I was going to lose my job and that the cops were going to come and arrest me. He finally hung up on me. I called the police and reported it. They told me that it was a scam.The police reassured me that I wasnt going to jail and the cops werent coming after me. They also told me to change my #. Then the same guy called me back and I told him that I called the police and the retard told me that yes he saw the cops coming to my house right know. I said "they are on there way to my house?" And he said " Yes I can see them right know" I told him I was hanging up and when they were on there way to call me and let me know and I will have cookies and coffee waiting for them.
| anonymous 2012-08-02 03:14:28 Unknown |
The FDCPA http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf treats the INITIAL CONTACT between collector and debtor (first call, first letter, first whatever) as a special event. Legit collectors per section 809 of the FDCPA *must* tell you at initial contact, or send you paperwork within 5 days of initial contact, the following:
1. $amount of debt,
2. name of the current creditor (which may differ from the original creditor who might have sold your debt),
3. a statement that that debt will be assumed to be valid unless you dispute in writing within 30 days,
4. a statement that that if you do dispute in writing within 30 days, the collector must mail you written verification of the debt,
5. a statement that if you ask the collector in writing within 30 days, the collector must send you the name and address of the original creditor if it's different from the current creditor.
If you don't get the 5 disclosures, orally or in writing (you do not have to ask for them, the FDCPA requires collectors to provide them), treat the collector like you would any SCAMMER.
Note that 3,4,5 must be done *IN WRITING* so you will need to ask an address from your collector. If s/he refuses to give you one for any reason, treat the collector like a SCAMMER.
The collector can threaten court action at initial contact but the FDCPA requires that the collector actually take you to court if the collector threatens it. Threatening court and not going through with it (coercion) is illegal.
If they say the FDCPA does not apply to them because they own your debt, the debt-owner exemption only applies to the original owner. Any 3rd party who buys the debt for the purpose of collecting debt is treated as a debt collector, i.e., ownership is irrelevant and debt buyers must obey the FDCPA as explained in this FTC Staff Opinion letter here http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/letters/arbuckle.htm
Has the statute of limitations for your state http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/SOL-by-State.html expired on your debt? If expired, don't pay.
Collectors generally have to be licensed by your state to practise (collect debt) in your state and you can find out by calling your state Attorney Generals Office. Ask if a license is required and does this collector have one. If not licensed, don't pay and file a complaint with your state AG.
Read useful debt-collection FAQs from the FTC here http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre18.shtm
The debt collection process explained in plain English http://www.consumeraffairs.com/debt/fdcpa.html
Be aware that scammers are using bought/hacked/phished loan application data to extort payments for fictitious debts from victims and victims' families and friends.
The FBI warns about payday loan extortion scams here http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/paydayloanscam_120710
The FBI warns again http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releas ... nt-payday-loans
The BBB has issued several alerts on this scam, just google "bbb.org alert phony debt collector"
Report to the Internet Crime Complaint Center http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx , the Federal Communications Commission http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm , the Federal Trade Commission https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/ and your state AG http://www.naag.org/current-attorneys-general.php as appropriate.
1. $amount of debt,
2. name of the current creditor (which may differ from the original creditor who might have sold your debt),
3. a statement that that debt will be assumed to be valid unless you dispute in writing within 30 days,
4. a statement that that if you do dispute in writing within 30 days, the collector must mail you written verification of the debt,
5. a statement that if you ask the collector in writing within 30 days, the collector must send you the name and address of the original creditor if it's different from the current creditor.
If you don't get the 5 disclosures, orally or in writing (you do not have to ask for them, the FDCPA requires collectors to provide them), treat the collector like you would any SCAMMER.
Note that 3,4,5 must be done *IN WRITING* so you will need to ask an address from your collector. If s/he refuses to give you one for any reason, treat the collector like a SCAMMER.
The collector can threaten court action at initial contact but the FDCPA requires that the collector actually take you to court if the collector threatens it. Threatening court and not going through with it (coercion) is illegal.
If they say the FDCPA does not apply to them because they own your debt, the debt-owner exemption only applies to the original owner. Any 3rd party who buys the debt for the purpose of collecting debt is treated as a debt collector, i.e., ownership is irrelevant and debt buyers must obey the FDCPA as explained in this FTC Staff Opinion letter here http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/letters/arbuckle.htm
Has the statute of limitations for your state http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/SOL-by-State.html expired on your debt? If expired, don't pay.
Collectors generally have to be licensed by your state to practise (collect debt) in your state and you can find out by calling your state Attorney Generals Office. Ask if a license is required and does this collector have one. If not licensed, don't pay and file a complaint with your state AG.
Read useful debt-collection FAQs from the FTC here http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre18.shtm
The debt collection process explained in plain English http://www.consumeraffairs.com/debt/fdcpa.html
Be aware that scammers are using bought/hacked/phished loan application data to extort payments for fictitious debts from victims and victims' families and friends.
The FBI warns about payday loan extortion scams here http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/paydayloanscam_120710
The FBI warns again http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releas ... nt-payday-loans
The BBB has issued several alerts on this scam, just google "bbb.org alert phony debt collector"
Report to the Internet Crime Complaint Center http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx , the Federal Communications Commission http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm , the Federal Trade Commission https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/ and your state AG http://www.naag.org/current-attorneys-general.php as appropriate.
| Sam 2012-08-02 01:33:39 Unknown |
I had the same call today. He was very rude and hung up on me 3 times. I have some payday loans out but not for the amount he was telling me. I am going to call them back tomorrow and tell them to stop harassing me and to take my phone number off their list and If i hear from them again I will take some action. Pretty sure I am going to try to take legal action but not sure what kind I can take.
| Sam 2012-08-02 01:30:53 Debt Collector |
They called me today as well threatening the same as Zeus. The guy was very rude and hung up on me 3 times and was very course with me and I was trying to be polite. I asked him to stop yelling at me and calling me names but he persisted and I told him the best I could do on a payment would be 100.00$ on friday. Saying I owed a debt of 1600.00$ I know all my debts and that is not one of them.
How can I make this stop? PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME AND THE REST OF US POSTING!?
How can I make this stop? PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME AND THE REST OF US POSTING!?
| Zeus 2012-08-01 22:51:37 Debt Collector |
I received a phone call from this number today ,stating I owe money from a loan that was paid of, take me to court , they really nasty on the phone
| Confused 2012-08-01 02:34:01 Debt Collector |
Keep receiving calls from this number and messages stateing the my husband needs to return the call the very minute he gets this message it is a very time sensitive matter.... The man is jake Tyler but has a very deep Indian accient.... He says it's a law suit over a payday loan but we've nvr taken one out b4. The number he calls from always comes up unknown and he says he's with legal account assosation...we requested they send us something in writing from them with the payday loan company's name and phone number and an exact date he said he couldn't do that but w could settle now for 470$ and a credit card #
| Jen Chilner 2012-07-27 00:47:51 Prank Call |
They have harassed me at home and at my husbands work. They were on a recorded liine swearing and threatening. Any idea how to make them quit?
| Ashley 2012-07-23 19:59:59 Unknown |
I've received the same calls/messages - he has a very thick accent and claims to be from a debt collection agency - I have no debt - definitely a scam. I wish I knew how to get it to stop...
| Liz 2012-07-19 20:36:57 Unknown |
He has called my cell phone and my work phone saying that it is urgent for me to return his call.
| Joyce 2012-07-15 00:11:51 Debt Collector |
Started getting calls from this number in April, the person has a heavy accent. They are harassing me and I want it to stop. Several people answer this phone line. BEWARE SCAM!
| Do not want to give name 2012-07-10 18:05:50 Unknown |
I got a call on my work phone and the person was asking for someone who works at our office. Caller had a very heavy accent. I thought maybe Spanish, but he was not very good with english.
| Eddie 2012-07-09 19:50:02 Unknown |
What is Legal Cargo Association? Thick accent Indian I think it is scam.
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