617-807-0924

I receive a phone call from a Jeffrey Scott claiming that I took a pay day loan that i need to repay, never receive any loan, when asked to send something in writing he claim that he can't , gentle man was very rude then proceeded to call my place of employement numerous time.

One leg of this scam has been shut down:

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

This number 617-807-0924 has been calling my husband work, my cell phone and his and they keep threating us. My husband works underground and is unable to take calls. I would greatly appreciate some help with this matter. I have a Christian Price calling from the above mentioned phone number saying that we owe $500.00.

Thank you,

laburden@gmail.com

We have been receiving call at our work place from an individual stating he is from a pay day loan place demanding to speak to individual in our office.  He was extremely rude and demanding.  When the individual confronted the man that no loan had been taken out and that we knew he was trying to scam he quickly hung up and we haven't received any more call.

This number has called our office for the last few days looking for a young man who works for us.  Cussing the office staff and demanding we get a message to the young man.  He is using the name Mark Davis and said that he works for DFF (Department of Finacial Fraud).  The caller also stated that he was going to shut down this young mans social security number.  We know that it is a fraud but we can't do anything without an address for the caller.  Any help will be appreciated.

A indian guy called Jeff saying that I was being sued but if I want to stop that today I could deposit 1000 dolares to his company account. I don't have any legal issues... They treat and when I did say that I worked for the police department he hang up. I tried to call back and the message was that phone was not answering calls at that time. This number has called my phone numbers all day. How do I stop that?

calling using foul language calling uncontrollable...

Some idian guy calls me at my work and has all my information. also calls my cell phone and he siad that im being sued and that i took a pay day loan, i keep asking me for the info and he sais that i was already refered to them and no point to call the company. He always insults me and sais hes gonna call my boss to have me fired for fraud. He thretens me alot and uses profanity and alot of sexual explicit comments. They really just dont care. he calls my work and hes been told not too, by the secretary. i dont know what to do anymore to make this stop. they call from private number and from many difrent numbers once after another. I dont want to change my number but i dont know what i can do. Im registered in the do not call list but this does not stop these people. Can someone suggetst anything. Thanks

my company has recceived numerous nasty calls from an indian sounding man who claims his name is Brendon McCarty.  He says that he is looking for one of my temporary employees about a social security discrepency and money owed.  He called 30 or 35 times in one day and cursed and extremely rude.

We are continually receiving calls from this number.  They are apparently looking for an employee.  When I tell the man (Indian sounding), he starts being rude and infantile.

An Indian man with an obvious fake name, said he was part of the legal state of Mass. Saying I was in fraud with my Social Security Number, I want these damn people to stop calling me, I am going to lose it if they call my work again.

this number is calling my job 24/7 threating me about collecting money I didnt get what can I do to stop them they curse you out I want to stop

they keep calling me at work harassing me..

For the past 3 months until the present, I am receiving this scam call and as all the individual said, they called at my job and letting our customer service that I owe them money. I called all my loan company and let them know if they put me in collector, they said NO. So I told them that someone is calling me in my cellphone and my company where I work that I owe them and if I didn't pay on that day they have to put the summon in the court and they going to arrest me. And my loan company said DON"T BELIEVE THEM ITS A SCAM CALL.. I have received different numbers from them. And the last person that i spoke to is SIMON HAWK..I confronted him about why they keep calling me while i know this is SCAM CALL!! And he keeps on hanging up..So my company blocked that number because YES that Indian Man is so rude and mean! This is ridiculous..

This phone number and 917-628-2494 probably several others keep calling telling me I owe a cash advance loan. I do not. They are threatening, rude, and use profanity to employees answering the phone.
I wish it would stop! This is ridiculous.

I am once again receiving call at work harassing me telling me that I am going to be federally convicted for a payday loan that I didnt' pay back.  I ask them once again to send me mail regarding this or email me they refuse.   I am sick of getting these calls. I reported them to the FBI once before and am now reporting them at this number to the FBI again.

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

A man with what seems to be an East Indian accent has been calling my place of business.  He says he is from the Social Security Fraud Division.   He demands payment for some nameless creditor or such.   He is extremely rude and foul mouthed.   He keeps yelling at the others in my office telling the women to . ." shut your dirty mouth ! ".   He seems to be more polite to the men.   My guess is that he thinks women are easier to intimidate.   He also ties up the phone lines with an onslaught of calls   I happen to know this is a SCAM and am giving this mans' number to my attorney generals' office.

} He seems to be more polite to the men.

This is a very common observation of the fake PDL collectors. Rogue North American debt collectors view women, the elderly, and immigrants as soft targets and ripe for abuse. These South Indian scammers have a special brand of misogyny, which may be rooted in the regional culture of the callers. You should be glad the office women have not yet heard vile invitations to perform sexual acts and the like.

Of course, the reps all think they're untouchable by laws and they are probably all told the Americans they call are criminals and deadbeats who can easily pay hundreds of dollars even in the total absence of proof.

This is happining to me too....I was on my phone and a guy called over and over ! I had my friends brother talk to him and he called 3 times and then *69 ed it.If this is a joke its cruel...He was all saying i will go on your face-book and kill you! And i was so scared knowing i had two 12 year old's with me and i'm 14 !!!