347-468-8671

who is this calling us

This guy called with a very heavy accent wanting to speak with my daughter I told him she wasn't home, he called back 3x right after that all three times back to back I told him she was not home, he then called back from a blocked number and said he was judge Matthis and that he needed to speak to my daughter. I know this is a scam my daughter lives with me works hard and has no debt what so ever!!!

Guy callled saying he was from the SHeriff's Office as Officier Charles Mathews. On earlier calls g he announced himself as Alex Cooper. Tring to collect moneys I supposedly owe to a payday loan conpany> I can this guy is of Indian acent as when I called back he answered in his own natural voice.  The company he announce himself as was to lenghty to recall./

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 yesterday and today from the same number leaving me a threatening message to call them stating that they will charge me for financial fraud and his last name was Mr. Malcolm(couldn't understand him so I think that was his name he gave me). That voice mail scared me to death but I was also mad since I haven't received a loan and cashed or deposited a check from payday and didn't pay it back.  I called them back immediately since I was understandably very upset  and I didn't sleep well last night and they woke me up twice calling me.  Well, when I called them back I started drilling them immediately since I couldn't understand him with such a thick accent.  I asked him repeatedly who they were and where are they calling from.  He said they are with Marshall & Associates out of New York and that I got a loan through payday(he also said United Cash Advance by mistake and I caught it).  He said I  didn't pay it back and started telling me all my personal information.  I asked him to show me the check that I cashed or deposited and he said he wouldn't, basically he didn't have to.  Also, he kept threatened me saying they were going to press 13 counts against me  including fraud, larceny, and more.  I was very shaking up by this time but he started asking me if I want to take care of this account now they would work with me and my bill was $562 for a $300.50 loan I took out and I needed to pay half of it now and I told him I don't have that kind of money.  Now, I got out of him that I supposedly got the loan in March so I told him I am calling my bank now to check if any deposit was made into my account and hung up.  I didn't realize it was too early and my bank wasn't opened yet so I called back again.  A different person answered and I asked who he was and he said he is Allen Marshall and he owned the company.  He kept trying to get money out of me and threatening me over and over.  I kept saying I don't have any money and I told him, why don't they do a stop payment on the check I supposedly deposited and issue me another one and I will deposit it and pay them back on the spot, but he said no. I asked him for some time to see what was going on here and asked for a week and he stated he would give it to me if I paid on the account and I stated again, I don't have the money.  Then I said give me a day and we went around on that one so I said give me 2 hours so I can wake up some and either he call me or I call him back so he agreed. Now get this, when we spoke about the stop payment he also said that he would stop payment on the check if I get another loan through another company up to $1,000 and I told him I don't want another loan so just stop payment and I will go that route but he wouldn't do it. By this time my bank opened and I called them to see if I had any deposits for the amount of $300.50 for February until this date and they said no, and I then asked my bank if they can get on the phone with me and will call them back and for the bank to tell them I didn't deposit or cash a check for this amount at all but they wouldn't get on the call with these guys from Marshall & associates.  I then called Marshall & Associates up again since I was so upset I'm surprised I didn't have a heart attack!! I'm very tired right now but wanted to worn others about this mess asap.
    After going around and around we agreed I would call him in 2 hours or he will call me. Now, when I did call my bank locally they did give me the fraud department and I talked with them explaining all of this mess.  I also called United Cash advance and they told me I didn't have an account with them and gave me the Home land Security number at: 1-989-497-0580(call them now and they will give you the website at FTC.gov to report this fraud).  I would call the Homeland security number so you have proof you called them by phone records.  Also, I had to freeze my account and card now so they couldn't get any money from me.  I have been working on this mess since 8:30 CTS, but still have to call all 3 credit reports, SSN, make the report on FTC website and more.  If you haven't called your credit report to alert them, the numbers are as follows: 1-800-680-7289, 1-888-397-3742, 1-800-525-6285.
    Also, I called payday and that was basically a joke.  I told them what happened and the customer rep. Pamela was nice but told me this scam was only going on for the last 3 days.  Well, look at the other people who reported this, I see one on July 20th.  She told me to call the police and make a report which means I really have to go down there and make it and nothing will be done this way since I told her I am called the FBI too since these people need to be caught now.  I asked her if she agreed that payday is a multi-million establishment and she said yes so I said if they did their work they could locate these scammers under a rock if they got the FBI into this and payday needs to take the liability that these guys are using payday and you are just saying for us to go to the police and make a report and call them back, are you kidding me, they are scamming people as we speak and I almost had a heart attack what if someone does and payday isn't taking this seriously.  Does it take people like us to make sure people like them get caught?  By the way, I just got a call back from this Allen Marshall being real nice and I told him how dare they scam others out of their hard earned monies, how dare he threaten people like me that he didn't know how old I am and I could have a heart attack, and how dare they say all these charges will be put on me when I found out that $562 is not enough money to charge us with all these counts, it's a civil matter!!  I also told him I called payday and they didn't have an account on me!! He also really didn't even sound like the same guy but he said he was and then I hung up on him.  My hands are shaking bad right now, I am sooo upset to think I was about to be scammed and they are doing this to many more !!  I am sick and tired of people scamming others for their hard earn money fraudulently, what's wrong with them!!! GET A JOB AND MAKE YOUR OWN MONEY LEGALLY AND MOST IMPORTANT, BOY OUR HEAVENLY FATHER HAS YOUR NUMBERS TOO, THAT'S WHO I WOULD BE AFRAID OF!!  Remember this bible verse," the love of money is the root of all evil."  You need to check your  faith now, you need it!!  YOU MAKE ME SICK!!  This message might be a little confusing but I am tired and mad right now, but I know this verse and so should you scammers out there!!!!!

I have been getting these calls for several months at home and at work.  I am embarrassed every time I get a message from a co-worker who doesn't know the situation and have to explain it because these guys are rude and obnoxious to them.  I have called them several times, tell them I know they are fake lawyers and will not be paying anything and that they have been reported to the FBI.  Today the guy was so rude and kept telling me to shut my mouth over and over again and I let him have it.  I told him I don't know how you treat women in your country but you will not speak to me that way.  I told him he would not get money from me, to go to hell and not call me again, and hung up on him.  Does anyone know how to stop these calls.

O.K. everyone needs to freeze your account now and close it.  They are selling off your information to all these people and they are NOT in the US.  I just got off the phone with Home Land Security and they only deal with the US and not worldwide.  These guys are sending your information all over so call all the numbers above and make sure the SSN knows, the 3 credit report offices know now.  It's not good at all and make sure you blast them on the phone so they don't call you again.  Now, someone just called me saying they are from payday and it wasn't a couple of days when I sent the other message above to all on July 27th.  Also, the fraud unit for my bank called me and there was a charge that a company I never heard from wanting to take out money so we called this PMC and they said that they wanted me to fill out the cancellation, send in my bank statement showing the charges and they will THINK about taking the money off and she said that with the bank fraud unit on the phone with me, are you kidding me.  What is happening all their buddies are signing us up with these services so they get the commission for the sign up.  Please take care of your accounts now before they start taking money out of your accounts NOW!!

I HAVE THE ANSWER FOR THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE SCAMMING OTHERS OUT OF MONEY.  We all need to band together and tell our family and friends to start calling these numbers to jam their phone lines and keep telling them off and when someone else calls you add to the numbers.  Also, tell your local paper and we will start getting the news out there for these people since they are not in the US and are getting away with this every minute of the day.  I am calling my newspaper now and I am warning people since there are many people that are elderly, who have heart problems, and many more that this would scare them.  If we can't get them the other way we can jam their lines each time. I will let you all know what action I am doing and just start fighting back.

I agree.  Call them, prank them, put their [***] out of business.  They suck.

Once you turn them in with one phone number they wait a couple of months or so and start calling with another number, different information, an a new name. Had the same guy call me from two different numbers within a week giving two different names. I told him I knew it was him so then a about three months later a woman started calling me. Last time I talked to her she told me there was a warrent for my arrest and said come get me. No one has ever shown up three months later. Now again today the original guy started calling me. The start calling my sister and mom too because they were on my application for a pay day loan back in 2010, which is paid off.

keep getting calls from 2 different phone numbers  347 468 8671 and also 814 347 2004 saying i owe over $500.00 for a pay day loan and the atorney general will be contacting me and a lawyer to get the money wanted me to make  a payment right away same voice can't understand  them to good  on one call a couple of months ago I told  them I forwared therr phone number and papers they sent on line fror payment to federal goverment and that they are scamers and will be caught and I  eally did send  info to spam . gov
hope they catch these crooks I don't answer any more calls from them

the person that is calling on the other end has a heavy indian accent and he is very harrassing calls multiple times a day and is very rude he has cursed at me and even started to harrass me on the job its becoming a lil bit over whelming how can this be stopped