216-744-9124

My Mom received a call from this number today at her job. She says an individual with a thick accent called her from Procter (Protor) and Associates and said that she owed $843. She told them she didn't think so, and he stated that they deposited the money into her account, but couldn't pull it back out. Long story short she hung up on the individual who in turn called her back and asked to speak with her supervisor. She told them she didn't think so, after which he became very hostile and threatening towards her, so she hung up the phone again.

How can this type of harassment be stopped????

This guy is total scum he call my girlfriend who is pregnant and was threatening her saying that we had a number of payday loans and we have not gotten any online loans I had her give me the number and I called him that guy messed with the wrong person I told him if he keeps calling her that I will turn his number over to the feds. He called me a son of a bi#@% and hung up the phone. This guy is very unprofessional and is a complete joke don't let him bully u guys around thank you all for all your posts it brought real comfort to my girlfriend knowing that this didn't only happen to her and knows now it is indeed a scam..

I just got the call at my home and work from Jay McEntire (heavy Idian accent) from Goodwin, Proctor & Assoc 216-744-9124 stating that his law office received a claim against me for NSF and default again my recent payday loan. And that if I didn't make arrangements by 4pm (EST) this afternoon, tomorrow he would be filling a criminal lawsuite against me, issue a warrant for my arrest, and contact my employor for garnishment. I listen to him and got a lot of details from him. It was obvious that he was reading from a script. But he had my SSN# (but one character was wrong, I did not correct him) hom and work#, my company name, and name of my bank (he did not have my acct#). It seem he got these details from my on-line application. I immediately called my load company and they confirmed my acct was is good standing and if there was any problems or default, they would contact me first. They also heard from other customers about the same guy and scam efforts. If he's going to run a scam he needs to learn standard business and collection practices to make his claim and attempts just a little more realistic. However, this is also my fault, my completing on-line applications and providing my details, this is potentially a situation that I bring onto myself. You trust that websites are secure but you have no way of knowing.

I checked my account yesterday, and it was charged the $29.95, I called the 888 number just now, and talked very calmly to the man who answered. I told him that I have not applied for a payday loan, and that they put my bank account under (they did!), and that I was wondering if the money was just lost or if I could get it back. They acted like I had an account with them and said that they canceled the account for me. (What account?) It was it'd take them 5 to 7 days to get my money back. So I guess we'll see if they do or if they don't.

This man called me today early this morning threatening me and leaving nasty messages on my voice mail that I had a pay day loan out which I did, that I defaulted on. He was very rude when I called him back and would not allow me to speak or ask questions, like the other messages above were saying he sounded as if he was reading from a script. The man gave me to options, one being to go to court and pay all court fees and that I better had win the case or two for me to pay an absorbant amount in restitution of $800 ( the loan amount was only $250) , I told him I would pay restitution just to entertain him and see what else he had to say, he put me on hold and never came back to the phone. I was extremely scared and nervous behind this so I phoned my attorney immediately who called this jack [***] . My attorney said that this Jay told him that I will be served papers in two days and hung up on him. THIS IS A SCAM.....I can sleep tonite knowing that there are others out there that experienced this just like me. I hope this helps someone. I  learned my lesson and wont be putting anymore of my personal info online for any reasons at all. Hell I will just stay broke !!!! Someone also debited $29.95 from my account that I am also desputing with Bank Of America. I get a slew of emails and phone calls daily since I applied for these loans online ....I wish that we could create a movement to stop this madness! If this Jay Mcintyre calls me back I am amplified to curse his ass out!

After posting my last update, it's not over yet. I'm now getting calls at home and work from other middle eastern guy (I can't hear his name, accent too thick) from a 760# with the same story as Jay McEntire. I looked up the phone # and there are many e-mail complaints on it as well. Also Yesterday, my checking acct was hit with an electronic check for $30 from support@loanassistance and a phone# on the check 866-765-5097 and this phone# has a history of check scams. My bank is reversing the electronic check and I had to close my acct and re-open a new one. It was not a fun way to start a Saturday morning. But at least now they won't have any access to my access. We'll see what happens next week with the phone calls. I've also call my local police and they advised to stop in and make a report when I have time.

This happen to me and i called the number and spoke to a woman at first she gave me a refund# and then i called today and spoke to a man he said that it should be in my acct by money. We will see and if not i will get a laywer. This is a scam.

This is interstate fraud, a federal offense.  Your bank should reverse the charge and report it to the FBI. Based on the number of complaints here, it appears that no complaint has been made.  So, you should! These [***] are making a fortune from their crimes. Stop them now.

Most importantly, don't be afraid of your shadow. You are in the right, they are criminals. Get to it!

Same exact thing happened to me. I have been charged twice in the past two weeks for doing a bing search to find a cash loan. I came upon Cash Guardian. NO WHERE ON THEIR WEBSITE do they state you will be charged 14.99 from  LENDERSFAST, 29.99 from Cash Guardian AND $30.00 from Vantage Funding!!!!!!

It's a scam don't worry

I had a charge from My Cash Guardian as well today for  $29.95 plus this caused an overdraft & I was charged $35.00 by my bank.  I called them & disputed the charge because I have NEVER heard of these people & have NEVER been on their site.  This is scary that they have my bank information.

Recieved a call saying that they were going to file a claim in court if I did not call them

I just got alert by text from my bank for the same exact 2 charges from these people.one for 30.00 and the second for 29.95. What a bunch of [***]!!

i recently had unauthorized debits from my checking account from this company. How can I block calls to my work and unauthorized debits from my checking account

this number keeps harrassing me. please stop it from calling

I have a random charge of $29.95 from My Cash Guardian, and I have no idea who they are. This is a scam, and I want my money back!

I got a call from this number also.  I didn't recongise the number so i didn't pick up.  I set it up as a block number on my block list.  i get these weird voice mail like someone breathing down the line.  I just check my account and notice that there was a 29.95. My bank is checking to see what's going on now.

they went into my account and charge 29.95, without my permission

Yeah they called me too. Only one problem these SOB's took money out of my account and wasn't authorized to because my loans had been denied. Then a guy named "robert" wants to threaten me saying he can make me dissappear and not to worry about it they don't do refunds and figure out how to get my money back.

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