772-409-6570

Caller claimed a loan had been defaulted on (though no loan had ever been taken out). Gave two options - to either meet with an officer from the company and pay $900 on the spot or pay out $6,500. Failure to comply would mean frozen bank accounts/ssn (all of which this person had and shouldn't!) and warrants issued for immediate arrest leading to jail w/o bail. Caller claimed to work with FBI. I called the FBI and found out this is a scam. Call "comes" from Florida but actually originates in Nigeria!

Ihave the same problem what to do

I had the same issue, I called the police department and made an official complaint, am awaiting a call back.  The man on the phones name was Officer Williams stating he was from the United States Finiancial Bureau, Fincancial Crime Division.  He demands that my wife call him back or he will send one of his officers to come pick her up for breaking the law.

She supposedly was listed as a reference for a former friend who defaulted on a loan. They wanted to come get my wife for fraud.  I was outraged.

Hey guys here is what you do when they call. I am getting these calls as well. Tell them that you are going to pay...give in to them and then get there address and take it to your local police or sheriff. I did that with the very first one and they haven't called back. The ones that call me now are kinda tricky because it's the same guy, but different names and number. Don't give them any info whatsoever...just get their info where you can mail a money order to. If they only say they do "money gram" or "western union" get that info as well. They might tell you to go to the place and then call them. If they tell you to do that...boom head straight to the police call them and the dumb [***] will be giving their info to the police and you know where that will lead. If you want to know more on how to get them to stop calling email me at tamesha1981@aol.com and I'll help you out as much as I can. Also I will give you more numbers to look out for if they continue to harrass you.

This is the same guy who used to call me from a 201 number, he called himself "Officer John McCain or Chief Investigation Officer John Black". They called from "United States Law Enforcement Office".
I guess he decided to leave NJ and move to sunny S. FL.....
Just more proof that these yahoos are scammers.  I have an article about these guys-they originate from India (I believe) and have somehow set up a way to make calls appear they are coming from US numbers.  Here is some info about it.

""Unfortunately, a scam related to payday lending has emerged in the past few months.  This is not merely lenders overcharging for their product.  Instead a series of companies is using information they obtained about payday loan customers to ROB people.

The Players:

In addition to making loans itself, Bahamas Marketing Group (5700 Broadmoor St., Mission, KS 66202-2402, 913-432-7444) controls the lending of approximately thirty-five other companies, known as the “disciples.”  Bahamas provides completed loan applications or “leads” to the disciples, who process the applications on software Bahamas controls.  The disciples fund the loans and collect the payments.  Eventually the loans go into default and the return code their ACH provider gives determines the next step.  In most cases, the loan is automatically returned to Bahamas for collection.  

At this point, “i-Collect,” a division of Bahamas (Phone – 866-856-1024; Fax – 866-856-1041.) enters the picture.  I-Collect negotiates sales of the debts to third parties.  Some go to legitimate debt buyers that operate responsible businesses.  But the rest are sent to United Pay Services for collection.  On several occasions, i-Collects manager both admitted and demonstrated to me that even after a “sale” she exercises control over whether and to what extent United Pay pursues a particular debt.

United Pay (4494 Southside Ave., Apt. 203, Jacksonville, FL 32216-5484; 904-565-1924 (among others), FEIN - 223443840) or “TUPS” is the focal point of the collection process.  The company is owned by Piyush and Shreya Patel who use the Jacksonville address as their home address.  However, the collectors all work for a subcontracted call center in Ahderabad, India, call Innovations Infocom.   The call centers are connect through VOIP technology that (a) causes a U.S. phone number to appear in their victims’ caller ID’s and (b) allows them to leave U.S. call-back numbers (including toll-free numbers) that automatically forward to India.  Payments made go to a Western Union account in Florida which we believe is controlled by the Patels.

How the Scam Works:

Originally, this was a straight, if obscenely unprofessional, collections effort regarding loans made by one or more of the following:

Access Processing
Antilles Ventures
Apollo Funding
Arrowhead Investments
Astro Lending
Bahamas Marketing Group
Bahamas Marketing Group (a/k/a Integrated and/or I-TJF) Crown Lending edollarsdirect (a/k/a MW Marketing) Electronic Payment Processing EME Marketing (a/k/a Dollars Direct) Fox Enterprises, Ltd.
FTR Processing
JD Marketing Group
JVC Processing (a/k/a Loan & Go)
Lazer Lending (a/k/a DJAT)
M1Y Direct
Magnum Z / Debt Doctor
Mesa Financial
Midland Marketing, Inc.
Nevis Marketing / Timberhole
Oasis Marketing Group
OSL Marketing (a/k/a CMG, FSM, SSM and/or DJR) Paragon Processing, LLC Platinum B Services Plaza Processing Power Funding Premier Processing Sagamore SGQ Processing SJM Marketing Summit Group Total Lending VC Funding Vince Enterprises

Callers would pretend to be federal agents, bank examiners and other powerful people and threaten immediate arrest unless the borrower immediately paid somewhere between 3 and 4 times the original loan amount.   Payments had to be made by Western Union Quick Collect to a location in Florida (presumably to be collected by the Patels).   Calls would be made 20 or more times per day to the same borrower, along with his/her employer, co-workers and references.  Profanity was commonplace and even physical threats unheard of.  Rarely would the caller identify which loan was in default.  

For the most part these collection efforts were unsuccessful.  Most people realize that the FBI does not collect $300 loans.  Even if they did, the educational requirements and oral assessments necessary for entry into the Bureau would have barred nearly all of the collectors involved in this scam from entry.  In fact, the collection effort continued only because that one person in twenty that fell for the scam paid so much more than was actually owed that it was worth it to Mr. Tucker, Ms. Kent and the Patels to keep it in play.

But the scam has mutated further.  By purchasing delinquent loans, United Pay and Innovations Infocom come into possession of the confidential information of tens of thousands of Americans.  Because these consumers “owe” on at least one loan, collectors are able to convince borrowers they are in serious civil and criminal trouble over the delinquent account.  Collectors call and pretend to represent the “Financial Crimes Investigation Unit” (though many still lapse and claim to be FBI agents and/or employees of the “Ministry of Justice.”)   Although they occasionally identify the original lender, more often they claim the debt in question is from 2005 or earlier and that the lender was “U.S. Federal Bank,” or "U.S. National Bank - neither of which exists.  Invariably, they claim “an affidavit has been filed” and demand immediate payment of hundreds or even thousands of dollars to avoid arrest and imprisonment.  

In one recent variation of the scam, they claimed to be acting on behalf of a California attorney.  However, they refuse to give the name and the "Bar ID" number they will give does not correspond to any attorney listed with the California Board of Bar Examiners.  Even more ridiculous, the number they give for the "attorney" is one we KNOW connects to the Indian call center and they even answer it "U.S. National Bank" rather than as a law office.

But the worst is yet to come.  The person that gets scared and pays will be contacted again within weeks with more demands.  Why?  Because this is no longer about resolving debts.  It is about “plucking a pigeon” to borrow an old-fashioned phrase.  Payment only encourages them to continue the scam.  At least one person we know of has been bilked of over $4000.  

In another case, we settled two loans for a customer with a legitimate collection agency – only to see the settlement fail when these people called the client.  When she didn’t recognize the name “U.S. Federal Bank” she asked if they meant the two loans she was scheduled to pay later that week.  Of course, the collector, said they were. He then kept calling her office until reaching her boss and telling him that – as the owner of the computer she used to make her application – he was legally responsible for the debt.  Incredibly, her boss accept this outrageous, highly illegal claim and threatened to fire our client.  In the end, the client sent these thieves nearly triple what she had legitimately settled her debts at and still owes the actual creditors!

What you should do:
1) If a caller cannot speak English properly, he or she is not an FBI or other law enforcement agent.  But pretending to be one is a serious crime.   Hang up and call the REAL police.  Feel free to share any and all of this information with the appropriate law enforcement agency.

2) There is no U.S. Federal Bank or U.S. National Bank, so you cannot owe money to these "institutions."  Threatening imprisonment to recover an unlawful debt is extortion.  This felony should be reported to the REAL police.

3) Unless you used someone else’s identity to obtain a payday loan on the internet, YOU CANNOT BE IMPRISONED FOR NOT PAYING ONE.  We do not have debtors prisons in America and the FBI has better things to do than act as a private collection agency.  Again, this is harassment and should be reported to the REAL police.

4) Making outlandish threats like these is automatically a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  While Bahamas management has tried to claim that iCollect is a debt broker, neither the FDCPA nor the Federal Trade Commission’s regulations recognize the distinction they wish to make.  Bahamas Marketing Group, iCollect and United Pay are all “debt collectors.”  Consumer lawyers will take FDCPA cases on a contingency fee so you need not worry about having money to pay a lawyer.  If you are harassed – SUE THEM!  If everyone did that, they would be out of business in a heartbeat.""

I myself have contacted an attorney for further handling.
Good Luck.

i just got one too. officer john mccain from United States Law Enforcement Office. he sounded foreign and could not give me any information as to why he was calling. he only wanted my name and phone number. his extension was 1040.

I jsut had the same "John MCain call me with the same number and everything, I actually was worried for a minute what i did, glad to know it is a scam, as much as that can be reassuring:(
Marcy

Me too! Officer Mike Jones and Officer Mike Johnson of the Federal Law Enforcement, blah, blah...It was an obvious scam but I still looked up the number. I'm thankful to you guys for posting so I didn't have to worry.

The caller called my work number and gave her my social security number and told her to tell me if i did not call the law enforcement dept  in florida within the next hour, I would be picked up by the sheriff.  He stated his name Officer Mike Johnson with with law enforcement dept in Florida. The number he told me to call was 772-409-6570 X1039.  We hung up on him. He did have a forgein sounding voice, with broken english.
Does anyone know how to stop these calls?

i was having wrong impression in my mind due this post i follow this post n i was not worried regarding this but know i have paid the sue amnt to the company...........................guys now if you dont know perfectly then dont write this type of blogs because of you guys i had paid 4800$ to them............

I received a call from Officer John McCain, stating that I had legal documents filed against me for failing to pay a bill. That I would be arrested, put in jail and possible bodily harm. I don't owe any outstanding bills, but this person had my Social Security number, and that really bothers me. These people need to be stopped.

I had the exact same call come in tonight too!!!  An Officer John McCain from Law Enforcement Agency in FL.... but they messed up!!!  They had the wrong person!!!  They said some other name so I told them that, and they continued to tell me their is an open file against me (though I do not answer to the name they stated) and I hung up on them.  Then, decided to call the number back to see just exactly what company it was, since I knew their was something not right about all of this.  Another Indian guy answered, and I asked what office this was.  He said it was a United States Law Enforcement Office of John McCain.  I asked where it was located, he said Tallahassee FL.  And I hung up.  What a crock of BS!!!

Received a call on May 6 from "officer Mike Johnson" and I could not quite understnd his English, said if I did not call within a certian time, an injunction would be served against me. Said he was from the US law enforcement dept in Fl.  When I called back, I thought it strange that the machine that picked up the call did not identify as any law enforcement office and when I pressed zero to get an operator, I was disconected so I thought it was a scam.  I tracked the area code in Fl and called thier two county clerk offices to see if any injuction is being served. No record of me in their files.  One of the very helpful persons gave me the idea to get to this site to report the call.  If they do call back, I will certainly see what info I can get from them and will not give any info about me.

I just talked to "officer" mike johnson who said they have a electronic signature for a payday loan for $4,800.  I asked for his badge number and he said it was # 115 and gave me a case file number, I tried to get info from hime but of course he would not offer any, I did not hang up on him as I really wanted to hear his scam. He said he was recording the conversation. I requested the info that the loan company had that says I signed for a loan and he said they have no requirement to send me anything. I told him that since they are not required to send me anything showing I applied for a loan, then I am not requred to pay the loan.  He stated that since, on the recorded line I refused to agree to pay, then they will file the case with the stated attorney office and I will be notifed by the police. And my SS # will be blocked, my credit will be blocked and I won't be able to get a job or any financial credit or loans until resolved. I kept asking what county he is filing with and he says that is not determined yet. So we will see what is going on.

My boyfriend got a call from a woman using this phone number.  She claimed to be with the US Attorney Generals office.  She provided a case number and told my boyfriend he was being charged with 6 different charges including identity theft, interstate bank fraud, etc. She told him a loan had been taken out over the internet and promised to be paid back in 21 days and was never paid back.  The amount was over 6,000 but he could settle out of court today for $1,050, otherwise she was contacting the District and County Sherriffs departments to file warrents by the end of the day.

Update:  he just called again from 954-409-6570. It's ridiculous...anyone want to band up and get a class action lawsuit started??

said he was with a federal investigation company and asked me a bunch of questions and scared me and saying i owed some ungodly amount of money and he could settle for less if i could send him half now and half later
he has called me now from 4 different numbers....he is ridiculous

I got a call from this number and they scared the [***] out of me.  They even called my job.  I am so mad at these people.  But they have been reported to the FBI and DC police.  I also got a number from 9545155728.  When will they stop.  We are not sure where they got the information.  They had everything on me.  I am not sure where it goes.

I just received a call today!  I am irate!  This time this person claimed to be Officer Andy Brown of the US Law Enforcement Department.  He used quite a few expletives and stated that I had a case file a mile long!!!  Several numbers that I have seen are: 772.409.6570, 954.409.6570, and 954.515.5728. With his heavy thick East indian Accecent I knew it was a scam!  No details how much I owe and whom I owe.  I constanly check my credit report all is clear there.  I am awaiting for my telecheck report to come in.  Yes folks must check both credit and telecheck reports.  Especially, if in the past, like I have, obtained a payday to cover unforseen emergency and medical expenses.  Bust thing to do...get all the inofrmation you can from him and report to local police and also call your local news station!   I just sent them a tape today!

WOW!!! I'm getting the same harrassing calls from these IGNORANT A$$Holes!!! Me personally, I went postal on them, didn't even give them a chnace to speak. They were so mad, saying, "Can I sleep with you and all this crap". They are calling from 2 different numbers now, 772-409-6570 and 646-845-1902, beware it's a scam. So what they have your info, if you know you don't owe anything, don't give them anything. Do anyone have an idea how you can  stop these calls???????