Ms. Rosario Jones called me today claiming that she was from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Department (SLED), and work with the Special Investigations Unit.  She posed herself as a caring state worker who wanted to help me before she forwarded the file to the judge.  She claimed that she cold see from my records that I was "GOOD" person and that she would hate for these charges to be filed on my for FELONY BANK FRAUD.  I immediatel freaked out and asked her if there was anything she could do to stop this.  I told her that I was not even sure this debt was mine because I have never received paperwork but at this point, I wnated it to go away.  I did not want to ruin my reputation or career.  She sound so empatethic and put me on hold to "speak to the law offic ethat was filing on me".  She came back to the phone and told me that they agreed to allow me to pay $900.00 by noon and that would drop the charges.  I called my husband because I was at work and asked him to take  the funds to Money Gram as instructed by her with codes for a company called ACP.  Thank God that he was thinking with a clear head.  He slowed me down and told me to contact the courts in South Carolina and further investigate.  I did so and come to find out that she is a scam and they had already received another report from an innocent victim who actually paid her and called the courts to see if the charges were dropped.  I was so upset.  She called me back at 12:16 pm to see why I had not sent the money to her.  I told her she was a scam artist.  She then proceeded to tell me that I was making a big mistake and see was going to file the paperwork because I missed m deadline.  I spoke with the police department in South Carolina and the county where I live.  They both assured me that no one would be arresting me and if she called back, to tell her to stop harrassing me.  Unfortunately the police department is not able to do much because these scammers are so good at what they do.  They spoof or spook the phone (not sure of the correct terminology) so the calls can't be traced and they use fake names.  It is unfortunate because I was so scared and willing to pay.  I had the money to do so.  I feel bad for those who were just as scared but lacked the funds but paid anyway, even if it came from rent, bills or food budgets for their children.  This is sad. BE AWARE.

I understand. No problem. Don't let them rattle your cage. The law is on your side!

Thank you so much for answering and assisting me - it is just so nerve racking.

No! Even if it were a legitimate debt, you cannot be arrested. Debts are civil and not criminal matters. Tell them the next time they call you are reporting them to the Federal Trade Commission for harassment and hang up.

So positively, they cannot come to my work and arrest me, correct?  How can I stop these calls?  Desperate - someone please advise - thank you!

NO!

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

I received a call on my cell and my work number, stating she was from the fraud division regarding a payday loan from PAYDAY LOAN YES and I was going to be arrested at work.  Her name was Rosario Jones and she was very cruel.  She stated that this was a fraud because I did not pay for this loan and defaulted on this in June of 2009.  At that time, I tried to make payment arrangements with PayDay Yes and they would not accept anything except the full amount.  Now they have sent this to many collections companies, all of which have threatened me.  Can I now be arrested for defaulted payday loan? and I am positive that PAYDAY LOAN YES has written this debt off on their IRS tax returns for 2009 or 2010.

Someone called and identified herself as Ms Baker  re a serious matter! Then gave me another number to call her back on 1-800-957-1987 ext 213, but when I called the number the voicemail was full and I couldn't leave a message! Some kind of investigations unit? We couldn't understand the name!

So these people called me saying that I took out a check loan online and never paid. They said that the charges against me would be unsealed at noon today and that I would be arrested. They also said that they checked and since I do not have any kind of criminal record that they were willing to let me pay this and not have me arrested. What nice guys they are! If you cannot tell I am being sarcastic. I do not know whos list I am on but I get this call every couple of months from a different place. They all say " If you do not pay you will be arrested for the Payday loan. DONT believe them if you get the same call! They are looking for suckers who will pay! You will not get arrested for a payday loan!

I recieved this number saying it was an urgent number saying that she was from fraud division. I have never heard from them and dont plan on saying anything to them.