215-586-3579

Caller called our business for an employee.  Cursed at me.  Couldn't understand him.  Sounded like he had a chinese or japenese accent.  Used the "f" word and threatened to keep calling every 10 minutes if we didn't have the employee call him.

I been getting the same phone call. The caller calls themselves the "Department of Justice",  and that they need my information for a case pending against me. Total FRAUD!!! I'm a law-abiding citizen, but I called the real DOJ and they told me that they have no office that used that phone number. Also, when they called, that's not the phone number that was on my called ID. Total FRAUD!!!

You BET it is!

They seem to be stepping up their calls as of late, also.

https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-714-333-2981

This is just another one of hundreds (and perhaps even thousands) of numbers these overseas payday loan debt collection scammers are calling from:

https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-904-425-9141:

It's a scam, and all their threats are false and illegal.  The bottom line is, these are criminals trying to steal consumers' money.

Here are a few news reports and government advisories warning consumers about this scam:

ABC News:  http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=5621205&page=1
West Virginia Attorney General:  http://www.wvago.gov/internetloanscam.cfm
WTAE TV4, Pittsburgh:  http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/call4action/17285785/detail.html
Florida Commissioner of Consumer Services:  http://www.800helpfla.com/newsletter/2008/092008.html

This is a very active group of scammers, many of whom are calling from India (and probably other countries) and are in cahoots with a group of American pay day loan scammers. They attempt to extort money from consumers with a myriad of false and illegal threats, and alternately pose as debt collectors, federal and state law enforcement officers, lawyers and bankers. Their trademark is to use meaningless legalese gobbylgook phrases like "We are downloading warrants against you" or "We are filing an affidavit against you." Another trademark phrase is to threaten the consumer with something like this ridiculous phrase: "If you don't pay then only God can help you."

Typical of many financial scams of this variety, they usually demand payment via Western Union or MoneyGram or credit card. They use any number of phony names such as US National Bank, Federal Investigation Bureau, US Legal Investigation Bureau, Christian Nicholas & Associates, US Federal Bank, Sonic Bank, Hopkins Law Office, CashNet, United Legal Processing, Morgan Associates, United Pay Services, National Processing, White Collar Crime Unit and many more.  These criminals also use many phone numbers from many area codes; they're probably using caller-id spoofing software and/or VoIP to disguise their real location.

The main thing to remember is that anytime someone calls you demanding money to prevent your arrest, or demanding your lawyer's name so they can sue you, it is ALWAYS a scam. No debt collector (let alone criminals posing as debt collectors) has the authority to have anyone arrested for anything. (And it's illegal to them to threaten such a thing.) And since these foreign dirtbags routinely impersonate law enforcement, it's also important to remember that American law enforcement officers aren't in the business of debt collection.  (Debt is a civil, not a criminal, matter.)

A consumer posting a complaint about these same scammers at https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-718-831-7157 notes that 718-831-7157 is associated with an India-based "outsourcing" telephone bank.  Though a reverse search on WhitePages.com shows that 718-831-7157 is an unlisted land line in New York City, information on Debtbuyers.Com shows that that number is used by India-based Intellisourze. (Source: http://www.debtbuyers.com/debtbuyers.asp ) My guess is that it's a VoIP phone number.

This is another piece of the puzzle that fits in perfectly with other information about this scam. There are some reports on 800Notes that have suggested that the crooks behind this offshore scam are also the crooks behind the notorious Bass/Ellis Crosby & Assoc./States Predisposition scams in Florida and Georgia. The interesting thing is that the number of complaints on here about the US National Bank/US Legal Investigation/Federal Investigation scam skyrocketed *after* April 7, 2008 when Florida obtained a $1.3 million judgment against Ted Ellis Crosby, shutdown his operations and barred him from ever conducting debt collections in Florida (
http://myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsrel ... 5257424005858A6 )  There's certainly a good chance that the crooks placing these calls from India are doing so on behalf of the American crooks behind the Crosby/Bass/States Predisposition scams.

Here's the contact information for the phone bank in India:

IntellisOurzE BPO
701, Sapphier, Nr. Cargo Motors,
C.G. Road Navrangpura,
Ahmedabad - 9. (Guj.) INDIA.
E-Mail: info@intellisourze.com
Website: www.intellisourze.com

A check on the domain name "intellisourze.com" shows that the website and name registration was created on May 8, just one month *after* the Crosby scams were shut down in Florida:

Domain Name: INTELLISOURZE.COM
Registrant:  Pragra Infratech Pvt. Limited.
Email:  ankur.ranpariya@pragra.com  
908, Aksaht Tower, Nr. ICICI Bank
Opp. Rajpath Club, S.G. Highway
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India 380054
Tel. +91.7926871353
Creation Date: 08-May-2008
Expiration Date: 08-May-2009
Domain servers in listed order: ns5.znetindia.com ns4.znetindia.com
(Source: http://whois.domaintools.com/intellisourze.com )

Though scam calls from these crooks have been going on long before May 8, the frequency of complaints about these calls increased considerably after Crosby was shut down in early April.

This is conjecture, but appearances suggest that Crosby and company were originally running a two-pronged payday loan scam operation -- with some calls being made from Jacksonville, Florida and other calls being made from a phone bank in India (and possibly other countries); then, after the Florida Attorney General shut down the Crosby scams in Florida, the Crosby crooks transferred most of their scam efforts to the India phone bank.

If you are targeted by these criminals, be sure to report them to all the following federal and state law enforcement agencies (most of which you can do online or over the phone):

1) The U.S. Secret Service is responsible for protecting the country's financial infrastructure and payment systems from international and domestic threats. Call or write your local Secret Service field office to alert them to the details of this attempted extortion. The addresses and phone numbers for the local Secret Service field offices are listed at http://www.secretservice.gov/field_offices.shtml or in your phone book.

2) Alert the FBI at https://tips.fbi.gov  Be sure to tell the FBI that you are being targeted by extortionists over the phone. And if the crooks claim to be law enforcement or lawyers, officers of the court or bankers, be sure to include that information in your report.

3) File a complaint with your local police. Most police departments will take a report over the phone.  Be sure to tell them that you're being targeted by an extortionist and give them all the details.

4) File a complaint your state's attorney general, the contact information for whom is at www.naag.org

5) File a complaint online with The Federal Trade Commission at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en

If these crooks call back, promise them nothing, pay them nothing and tell them nothing other than that you know they're a scam and that you've reported them to law enforcement. (And be sure to report them to all the agencies above each time they call you.)

By the way, here's just a *small* sample of numbers used by this particular group of scammers. Read the reports and you'll see the same pattern time and again -- phony organization names, thick foreign accents, and oddly worded threats that are so melodramatic and ridiculous that it's laughable:

https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-336-553-3965
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-909-6789
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-925-262-1327
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-678-954-6346
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-341-4004
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-856-831-0640
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-949-743-1140
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-410-505-8128
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-917-464-2534
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-210-858-6602
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-775-2121
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-310-909-8245
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-949-743-1156
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-214-245-1402
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-214-245-0922
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-214-723-5572
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-904-425-2863
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-718-831-7157
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-904-425-2857
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-858-244-0444

...and, many, MANY more.

These people have called my sister and my mom scaring them by stating I was involved in a huge investigation and they need to talk to me ASAP.  When I called them, they proceeded to pass me around several times before I got a hold of a woman who insisted I give her my attorney's name and number because they were collecting a $785 debt from a company called US Cash Advance.  I refuse to give them any person information, and it irritated them so much, the woman stated, "You are a mad woman and I won't deal with you."  She hung up on me.   TOTAL SCAM  Every time I have called back to find out what they want, they hang up on me.  If some one has an affadavit for me, they can send via registered mail.

Continue to call daily for the last 10 days.  They were calling on my cell phone, but now are calling my home, sister, neighbor & place of employment.  I'm not answering the calls or calling them back.  they say they are with the Federal Investigation Authority calling about an urgent legal matter.  I or my attorney must call them back or I will have an uncomfortable situation at my work or home.  The call is coming from California 415-880-5599.  The number for me to return the call is 215-586-3579

This number 215-586-3579 calls me and says if I dont call them back the next day at 11:30am I will be faced with a legal matter mess.  First of all anything real would not be handled this way....I can barely understand these people and they sound like they are on a cell phone and driving while talking.  I am constantly being harrased by these people...The only way I can think they got my info is from a PAST pay day loan that I have since then pd off and back.  ???  Anyone w/any info on these people pls let us all know.  I am ready to change my # vuz of them...The scarey part is they have my social...I guess it is time to get Life Lock.

These people are crazy!!! They have been bothering me for almost 2yrs now. I called the FBI, Local police dept., US Atty office and filed complaints with all of them. They said there is nothing they can do because they are from another country. I had to change my cell number, tell them when they call my place of employment that I no longer work there.  I mean they will call then nothing for 6 months then call my work again. I mean give it UP!!!! They are not going to get any money from me, please DO NOT give they any INFORMATION AT ALL..... Tell them if you answer the phone the federal attorities have been notified and next time you call me, you will be contacted by the local and the US attorties.  Someone needs to catch these people and put them in the slammer!!! This is totally crazy.

Yes I totally agree...They have been calling my cell number and each time it has been a different person (male) w/a diff name...NOW they are having women call me with original names such as Angela Smith..?? And at my home # too now...First of all they are obviously middle eastern and no ME person has a such name like Angela Smith!!!  I have called the Social Security Office, FBI, and the Fed trade Comm. All have complaints from me regarding these people....What The SSA tells me that they can't do anything w/our socials but it still worries me!  They need to be stopped...Don't know what else to do!!

They've been calling me for the past 2 weeks got another call today asking to return the call to 215-586-3579. Someone named "Adam Smith" (must be related to Angela Smith from the post above) total SCAM. Threatening legal action etc. just like the above posts, they won't be getting a call back from me. About 2 years ago got calls from Bass & Associates wanting something like $700 in 24 hrs. with similar threats must be true what Alfalfa is talking about above. Once I wrote them and filed a complaint stopped getting calls, they must be up to they're old tricks again.

I have received 14 calls from these people in the last 3 days!  A man who says he is an officer and has a very thick Indian accent says that I owe on a past payday loan that I never had!  Threatens me by saying they have a warrant out for my arrest and I have criminal charges against me.  After telling them I have reported them to basically everyone, they continue to call and harrass me saying I need to have my attorney call them!  He also called my work and spoke to a co-worker telling them everything!  There is no stopping them!

I was told about a call that came to my work and the person stated that they were with the DOJ office and this was a legal matter that needed to called back on.  I got the name of the person calling (Officer James Brown, badge number 20501)at 215-586-3579 xt 147.

I called the number back and the phone was answered,  "hello what can I do for you".  When I told them I wanted ext 147 I was put on hold and after a minute or so I hung up and dialed again.  This time it was machine that answered Dept of DOJ...leave a message with name and number.  I didn't leave anything other then I new this was a scam, because I looked it up on the net and if this is the Department of [***], to stop calling.  Well I got a call in about 3 minutes and the guy proceeded to call me every name under the sun when I told him I knew this was a scam...the "F" word, the "N" word and many others.

I bet I will hear back from them but I have down loaded and printed the form from the Pennsylvania Attorney General complaint form...Since the prefix number 215 is a Pennsylvania prefix.  I don't know if they can do anything but maybe they can.

That is EXACTLY how it all started for me, also.  They bothered me for about 3 days and then stopped.  I'm hoping they realized they weren't going to get any money out of me and leave me alone.

The callers are Indians. They have been calling our office hundreds of times during the past week for an employee's information. They even threatened to sue us because we didn't want to release employee's information.

I got a call today from 20818352830. I didnt answer, but there was a message. A man with a heavy Indian accent left a msg claiming to be Officer Charles ?(couldn't understand all the words stated). Noted he's calling from the "legal dept" of the "bureau of criminal identification" and that there is a case under my name and SS#. Noted I need to call the "second" I recieve the message.  I call the number given in the msg. back 215-586-3579. I give my name to the person who answered the line and I was transferred to the same man who left a msg. I tell him to give me the last 4 of the social he has attached to my name. He then transfers me to a "supervisor" who calls herself Tracy Mole. I ask her to do the same thing including letting her know that my name is a popular name and she hangs up on me.
I THEN get a call back 15 minutes later from Tracy stating that the call is in reference to a case file (not provided). Said if I refuse to call back with ? information I will be detained on charges. Never left any detail about alleged case. Tracy didn't leave a call back number in her VM either. I decided to call back the # left in the previous msg by other person because I don't plan on getting numerous calls. I was told I recieved a payday loan in June of 08 and it was never paid back. I checked my statement from June of 08 to see and note verification that I never rec'd such loan. I found statemen & called back asking again what the name of the company is. She said it's not a company it is "Federal Investigation of Law and Enforcement". Different name from person who intitally called. I informed "tracy mole" that i never re'd a loan from a payday company on the date claimed. She said "OK hold on". I felt I was on hold for too long then hung up.

p.s. before being put on hold and after informing that i never rec'd a loan on the claimed date, I told "tracy mole" that either they have the wrong person or this is scam which I have found online (speaking about this site).

I recieved a call from the number 215 -586-3579 from a man named Daniel grey ext.112. He told me I have a debt that was from us cash advanced online and it was in the amount of 785 dollars. I said ok and he said we need to set up payment arrangement now before I send this down and the case os filed and needed to get a lawyer or I faced major legal problems. So of course because he made me nervous and scared I did just that. I have paid them a total of 400 dollars so far via money gram. The information they gave me for that was to send it to the state illnios and first name sorin and last name rus. So then he called me everyday at least 3 to 4 times a day. Yesterday 9/09/09 he left me a voice mail because I ignored it. I was so upset by the voicemail I was crying he was yelling at me telling me he thought I was a citizen of america and then said a lot of things I couldn't understand because he's very hard to understand and he sounds like he has a india accent. Well then I let my co worker listen to my voicemail and she told me to call the number and speak to his supervisor because that was totally un called for and unnessicary. So I did I called the number and asked to speak to Daniel Grey's supervisor and the guy said one moment and transferred me to Daniel so I hung up because I did not want to speak to him at all. Then he proceeded to call me back in like 5 seconds from me hanging up on him. I answered and kept my cool even though I was furious at this point. I told him if he ever left a voicemail like that again on my phone I was going to turn him in. And I asked him if he had the message that he left me on recording because all debt collectors and law firms have there calls on recording and they tell you that in the begining of the conversation which was another thing I thought was extremely odd. Then all he kept saying after that was I am sorry ma'am won't ever happpen again I am completely sorry. So I thought wow was that ever weird like as soon as I said I was going to turn him in for harassement he got scard as if he was a scam artist so I am so lost and upset bout this right now. oh and he also said it would take him like 7 to 10 hours to find that recording which obviously tells me that. that was not on recording go figure. then when I called back after close it says that this is the doj leave your name and number and will return your phone call shortly.

That is who called me.  Do not send them anymore money!!!  They are a total scam and there was a story about them in my local newspaper.  The BBB has also been notified of them as well as the FTC.  I just don't understand why they can't be stopped.  Can't this number be traced?  I just don't understand how they can get away with doing this for so long?