855-641-6960

calling my work number

Just as an FYI, everyone, I have attempted something that you might find interesting:

I have been reading through these posts almost daily for over a year now.  This whole scam irritated me in a unique way for some reason, and I have been hell-bent to try anything and everything I can to help stop anyone else being a victim or give them any more funding for whatever ilicit purposes they are involved in.

I have chosen numbers from random posts on this forum from other people.  Keep in mind that none of these numbers had ever contacted me!  I called back and started asking questions, acted a little bit worried and when they asked my name, I gave them a fake one (said I was Chuck U. Farley, which the humor was completely lost on them).  I would then hang up.  LITERALLY WITHIN 30 MINUTES I started receiving calls for Chuck U. Farley about a warrant for my arrest, a huge bill for a payday loan that wasn't paid, check fraud charges, etc.  Chuck U. Farley doesn't even exist, the name was an invention of my imagination, but they sucked onto it like leaches thinking it was yet another person they could scam out of money.  As soon as they had a phone number & name, a bad debt of outrageous porportions "magically appeared".

On that note, I agree that we seem to be getting nowhere with assistance from our own government.  I have filed complaints with every branch I can think of (& some new ones I found online).  There has been no response, action or resolution.  I have resolved to just keep trying to help as many as I can from sending their hard earned money, and for myself start seeing the humorous side of it all.  Here is a previous post I listed.  It may give you some good ideas on how to deal with them, but at the very least it should add a little humor to your day:

"Here's some more ideas to add in there:

They have started in with a new number now (760-269-4169), so the game begins again!  This time when the guy identified himself as an "officer", I told him he has called a crime scene and I started interrogating him.  He hung up after some stuttering and stammering.  Anyone who did not see my last post, here it is again with some more creative ideas on how to deal with these idiots:

"OK, first off, everyone CALM DOWN and don’t freak out about these guys.  No matter what they say or what they threaten, they CAN’T do anything to you.  I know every one of us has tried filing reports with law enforcement, FTC, FBI, ic3, etc.  It doesn’t seem to work, because these guys aren’t even in the USA.  So take a deep breath, relax and don’t let them ruffle your feathers.

Now, I started getting these calls about a year ago.  I have personally used all of the tactics below, and they do stop calling me for about 6 months…so the way I figure it, a little time out of my day to give them back a taste of their own medicine is worth it for 6 months of peace and quiet.  Keep in mind, as well, every minute you spend screwing with them on the phone is a minute they are NOT able to scam someone else.  (And the only way they will ever stop is if nobody pays them any money ever again!)  And now for the fun part—how to screw with them back.  I will start with the easiest and move up the line with the more time consuming:

If you have no time to mess with them:
a.    Just don’t pick up the line.  Let it go to voicemail and delete the message.
b.    Pick up the line and immediately hang up.  Keep doing it until they stop.
c.    Pick up the line and use an air horn or police whistle blown straight into the mouthpiece of the phone.  (I personally like the canned airhorn the best.)
d.    If they call while you are driving, turn the radio up as loud as possible and answer the line on speakerphone.  Don’t say anything, just let them listen to the blasting music.  Heavy metal music works best, but I personally have a CD with Star Spangled Banner on it, so I play that as loud as I can.  Just leave the line open with the music blasting until they hang up.

If you have a little more time to mess with them:
a.    Ask if they are related to the deceased (insert your name here as the “deceased”) or just a family friend, because “the viewing of the body if for family only, but the memorial service is open to everyone.”  Ask if they would like directions to the funeral.
b.    Simply tell them that you have read all about their scam on the internet & seen it on the news on TV, so you aren’t paying anything.  Don’t listen to any response, just hang up on them after saying this.
c.    Use this one only if you are willing to be as crude as they are:  Using the name they gave you (i.e., “Officer Mike Taylor” was the last one I got), say, “Is the this THE Officer Mike Taylor I read about on the internet?  Is it true what the posts online say, that you have such a small d**k that even camels won’t have sex with you?”  Then hang up on them.
d.    (For this one, I must first apologize to PETA and all vegans, but it highly offends the scammers because they consider cows to be divine beings.)  Tell them you don’t have time to speak with them, because you work at a slaughter house and you have over 100 cattle you need to “kill off” before the end off the day.  Then hang up on them.
e.    Are you good with theatrics?  Then try this one…it was actually highly effective for me:  Put on your deepest, scariest, growliest voice and just whisper into the phone over and over, “I command the demons to come for you, I command the demons to come for you, I command the demons to come for you…”.  Just keep whispering it over and over until they hang up.  I think this one worked well because they are quite superstitious.
f.    If you know a foreign language, answer the phone in it and just keep talking in unintelligible phrases.  The more obscure the language, the better.  Don’t know a foreign language?  Pig Latin seems to work just as effectively.
g.    Ask if they are calling from the convenience store, and can they give you last night’s winning lottery numbers, because you are sure you have won.  For any response they give to it, just keep yelling over and over, “I won! I won!”
h.    When you answer the phone, ask them where your pizza is and tell them because they didn’t get it to you in the “30 minutes”, you’re not paying for it.  Hang up.
i.    Tell them you are at work right now, but to call you back on your “home” phone, and give them this number: 202-835-0778.  (This is the scam and fraud reporting division number at the FBI.)  Hang up.

If you are REALLY p***ed off, and have plenty of time to screw with them:

a.    Go on to Craig’s List and post an ad in the wanted section or services section  saying you are looking for a payday loan company because you need a loan.  Ask they call you right away.  List the scammer’s name and phone number as the contact information.  (This sends the scum-sucking bottom feeders off to call the other scum sucking bottom feeders…LOL)
b.    Go online and look for every free daily horoscope, free insurance quote, free mortgage lending, etc., and click on the “have an agent contact me” link.  Type in the scammer’s name and phone number.  Viola!  Now they will get flooded with telemarketers as well.
c.    If you would like to blow off steam, and have no problem with swearing, just keep calling them over and over pretending you have Tourette’s Syndrome by just screaming obscenities in the phone until they hang up.  This works pretty good in the car, because no one else can hear you and it is a good tension reliever.
d.    Log onto these payday loan sites and enter all of the scammers’ information on it.  This way they might even wind up on their own list!
e.    (Do NOT attempt this one unless you have state of the art spyware & virus protection, and even then, you still are taking a risk):  Go into your spam folder on your computer.  Find every email you can about “you won millions of dollars” or “the Nigerian lottery” or something to that effect.  Send it back with all of the scammers’ contact information.
f.    Research for the phone numbers to both local and national TV news stations “breaking news desk”.  Again, tell the scammer on the phone to call you at your “work number” and give the number to the news station’s phone number.  (Hopefully, if the news stations get enough of these calls, they will start airing more stories about it, reaching more people and reduce the number of victims that fall for this.)

Again, before sending money to ANYONE, stop. Think.  Do you have any paperwork showing you owe money?  If not, ask for paperwork.  If they refuse to send it, they are scammers.  A real collection agency will always: 1. provide paperwork; 2. never yell or cuss at you; 3. never require you to pay first before receiving paperwork; 4. never identify themselves as an officer of law enforcement; 5. never threaten you with jail, arrest or physical harm.

Also left a message on out business line.  The message was automated with a file number from mcculley and assoiciates.

Deleted the message and moved on with my day.   : )

Left yet another voice message with a file # that I could not catch.  The message stated that they had an account that had been returned by my bank.  Stated, "that it was in my best interest to return the call.  This was not a solicitation call."  

I was not aware that it was legal to leave such information on any voice machine as they may not reach the party intended.  The tone of the call was not friendly or even professional.

Oh I forgot, this time the message stated the call was from Mccully, Davison and Assoicates

there real name is niagra restituion services and they are an arbitration firm

info from bbb

I'm not playing with them. I reported them to the FBI. They want to play games, fine.

855-641-6960 They don't leave a name of the person they are calling, they just state that your driving license will be suspended and threaten you with jail time...When I ask who they are trying to reach they gave me a name that had nothing to do with me....I let them know they had a wrong number and gave me quite a scare..They told me they would take me out of there data base....Two days later I got another call with the same threats...I called them back and asked for their company name and address so I can mail them a cease and desist order. The woman (very unprofessional) told me that she took me out of her data base and doesn't see why I need this information...I asked again for the company name and address and she refused to give it to me, telling me I was a liar and this was the only time I called in. I wasn't sure what her point was. I've never known a legitimate company to have a problem giving out there business details. Who are these people?

https://800notes.com/forum/ta-429fb24ec2162e3 ... -numbers-here-2

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

While I can see your point in getting even, I wish I had as much time on my hands as you do.

Wow! I had no idea..Thank you for this report Alfalfa.....I only new this was not Kosher... Also, they were asking for someone else, however they still call me...It's a black American woman that is on the other end of the phone...I never got a hint of an East Indian accent....

I just had the best shouting match with a black american woman as well. All I said was that I'm the Spouse and she hit me with all this legal action stuff. They are stating it's from a bad check from 2009. If that was the case, wouldn't they have arrested him by now? Are they for real?

I got one this morning, with my boyfriend a manager at a payday loan company, i know that they can not advsd me of anything, the only thing i didnt like, was beofre she even knew if it actually was me, she advsd me of my last 4 of ssn, and says that she is going to issue a warrant out for my arrest, girl i had warrants fo tickets for years, unless it has came from the court you can get off my phone, i told her i was reporting her to the attorney general and she hung up... funny

Some garbage about me going to jail in the morning.  Asset search, etc.  Wages garnished.  But would not let me have paperwork or give me an address to come in and meet in person.  If I owe somebody money and agree to make some type of arrangements, its going to be in person.  NOT OVER THE PHONE.

We have received several calls from this number in past 2 weeks claiming that our daughter is having check fraud charges filed against her.  She moved out of the house more than 5 years ago and is now married.  I tried to return the call the first time we received it but only got "there is nobody available to take your call" - did not identify themselves.  When I called back today, there conveniently was static on the line when asked the name of the company.  I spoke with some female that gave me lots of information about my daughter, where she had lived however incorrect phone numbers.  Funny  thing was, when I asked who "the client" was, she couldn't reveal that but she could tell me all the other particulars. This caller claime that the fraud charges are from 2009, and she could "have any transactions connected to her social security number and her driver's license revoked".   Bogus!!!
Do not reveal anything to these morons!!!

A very american voice with the so called name of "Erica Reed" called me from (855) 641-6960 giving me a shpeal about nothing more than that under penal code 503-27 she was going to file against me in court if I don't return her call and gave me a case # of 14123. Nothing else forthcoming...

Got a similar type of phone call looking for my nephew.  Is this legit?

The same Erica Reed called me as well and gave me the exact same file num and told me that my license would be revoked if I did not return her call. I kno that no legal action can be taken against me without me being properly served a suppena to appear in court so I got on this forum and found your post amungst others that have had experiences with this 1-855-641-6960 and her having the authority to do so to my license under the penal code 503-27

I got same call 2 days ago. It was ask American gentleman. Couldn't make out the name of the company or the person calling or the file number. Said that I was facing possible check fraud charges. ThIs was all on my voice mail. I didn't think they could leave such info on voicemail... I have the standard greeting on mine. It doesn't even give my name.....