253-216-6983

I recieved a call from 253-216-6983, claiming that he was a federal lawyer and that i owe $978 in interest from my student loans. I paid all my student loans off in January so I knew something was not right. "Scott Nicholson" told me that if I did not pay $300 within the next 45 minutes than I would have a warrant for my arrest, and will be arrested at my place of employment, when i told him that I dont have alot of money but I would try to come up with the $300 he was asking for he hung up on me. His "associate" (who sounds exactly like him by the way) John O'Connor, called back within 20 minutes, wanting my atty info, I advised that I had agreed to pay the amt but "Mr. Nicholson" hung up on me. He said he would talk to his supervisor and put me on hold. About 5 minutes later he told me to call his supervisor back at the same number he just called me from. I asked him if his supervisor was the same guy who I just spoke to and he became agitated telling me "He is not a guy he is a Federal Lawyer" I said "Fine, is your supervisor the same gemtleman I spoke to earlier" which further agitated him. He hung up on me as well (no suprise there) telling me to call his boss back. So I did and was treated pretty much the same as before but when I asked for the documents that he said had been emailed to me to be resent so I know who and what I was paying for, he refused telling me that I needed to send the money Western union and I would recieve all paperwork within 7 business days. I asked if I could pay debit over the phone right now since the small town I am working in has no western union (see I cam tell stories too) and he told me no that since I am delinquent on my account that I cannot even use a prepaid debit or check. He told me that if I did not resolve this issue within the next 45 minutes then I would have to meet him at the court house and work through the legal system. The man could not even answer me the name of the court house I would meet him at.


I am writing this because I will be soon filing charges on this GUY, I have found several other numbers and apparently names this man is using to scam people. A 5 minute search proved my gut instincts to dead on.

This is a scam do not pay them and file a complaint at your local sheriff's department ASAP, unless they sned you documnets than you may want to believe them.

I also have recieved several calls from this GUY named ????Alex??? Telling me that I owe money for a several loans that are delinquent. I have never had a loan in my ife . Once I told him I didn't have a loan, he said he would just see me in court. I tried calling him many time with no response. Again I recieved a call about thirty minutes later by the same Guy who acts like he hasn't spoken to me before, telling me the same ole story. I asked him for the number of the company that is accusing me of this, and he states that I have to speak directly to him not them and that my wages would be garnished. After ten minutes of me asking for information he hung up on me. What PISSES me off the most is that he has called my job as well as know my social security number. This is what scares me the most\. Someone PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!

I received a call as well from this number.  So sorry he called your employer as well.  Once I got off the phone with him, I contacted the police department as well as my husband.  Who happens to be an officer as well.  We contacted the local police department once we triangulated the coordinates based on the phone he is using. He is a scam and he will be caught.  I strongly encourage anyone who receives a call from him to contact the local police department as well as the Federal Trade Commission since he is violating state and federal laws.  If you have the message left on your phone still try and archive it.  Also take notes with dates/times and what was said.  They will need this information as well.  If you call Experian directly you can put a lock on your social security number so any creditors have to call you directly before any accounts can be opened....Hope this helps.

I have got a phone calls from this person twice today and I am sick of them I do not owe anyone and I ask them tell me who I owe or where I can call and see what's going on and the number he gave me is the same one he is calling from some one need the really get this person and put a STOP to this i'm working and this person is calling on my job.  PLEASE HELP AND ASAP.......

this man has called my phone today on june 12 2012 at 5:14pm saying i am behind on my mortgage and i owe the irs and he will be sending the cops to my address to pick me up. he also knows where i work and my ss number.

I just got (9:00am 6/12/12) off the phone with this attorney "Scott Nicholson", who stated i needed to pay him $316. He siad if I did not a  civil suit would be brought against me (which would cost $4000 in lawyer fees and then anohter $4000 in fines). When I stated that I did not have that kind of money he said he needed to check with his "High Powered Attorneys" listening in on the phone call if there was anything that could be done. He came back 5 minutes later and stated that they would except 1/2 of what I owe. When I asked him how much that would be he stated $200. He told me to go to my local K-Mart or 7/11 store and buy a Money Pack - Scratch Coupon and to call him back for further details on what to do.

Don't do it! This is an extortion scam operating out of India, which was covered by ABC News last week:

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

If you send them money you will never see it again. These criminals have swindled thousands of Americans out of millions of dollars which will never be recovered!

I just recieved tht phone call myself and he had the last four digits of my social security number is there a way to go after this guy should i contact my lawyer? I am freaking out i cannot believe some random guy is doen this and i want to knw how he got my social digits? Someone please help???

I just got a call from them and they said allegations against my social security number have been brought up. He then ask if the last 4 of my social was **** and i said no. Then he asked if this was my full social and i said no. Then he asked me if this was my address and i said no. Then he said then we will send someone to arrest me and i said go ahead you do not have my correct address to find me and then they hung up. Funny stuff. But i will put a hold on my credit to make sure.

I recieved a call over the weekend and I didn't know the number so I didn't answer but, A man left a message stated that it was very important that I call back and he was laughing. When I call the number 253 216 6983, the guy said that he was a federal attorney and that i have a warrant for my arrest for a loan company that I borrowed money from in the amount of $478 and said that I need to pay it right away. I told him that I never borrowed money from that loan company and wanted to know how he got my information, he even knew the last 4 digits of my social. I hung up and called back he then told me he name was Scott Nicholson and told me never to call back and yelled at me because I kept asking him how he got my information. Does anyone know what i should do?

Got a call from "Joe McCoy" this morning threatening to arrest ne for cyber crimes and money laundering. When I questioned what crimes I committed I was told they were related to student loans, which BTW are all in good standing. When I continued to ask probing questions like exactly what charges I was facing they got belligerent and said they'd see me in court. I called the local sheriff who put me through to the local FBI, who knows all about this scam. I was also freaking out because they are threatening my job. I have no idea how they got my SSN but I am also going to file a report with my local police. I really hope these people get caught where ever and whoever they are.

I just received a call from 253-216-6983, he said he was a Federal Atty and that I had a warrant out for my arrest, and he had my SS# regarding crimes he refused to tell me about. He said he needed my atty's contact info and when I pressed for more information and stated I don't have a atty he said I better contact his supervisor... Scott Nicholson @ 253-216-6983 or they would arrest me at work (which is oddly where they contact me...) A little freaked out by the call so I googled it and found all these similiar complaints. I *69 the call and again it was answered by the same man with the same accents in the same boiler room back ground noise! I hung up... sounds like a scam, just a little concerned he reached me at work!

I am getting phone calls from scammers at a phone number of (253) 216-6983. He says his name is John Connor. They are insisting that I owe money to them, but I know it's a scam from India that tries to convince people to send them money without just cause. They continually call my cell phone and my place of work. Please investigate this phone number and see if you can track the down. thanks, Scott Golden

I got a second call this afternoon from the same guy, different number, 253-216-6983. When I called him on his scam he got very belligerent and said I was "the [***] scamming his Madagascar clients". I have never done business or borrowed from anyone in India. I've been on the phone with the sheriff, FBI, and local police. They said right now there is nothing they can do but take an information report. So now I'm going to try the local media, we need to spread the word.

Legitimate debt collectors cannot call you at work if you ask them to stop and tell them it's your place of employment.

He called saying i had a warrant out n he was sendn police to my job n house

I got a message on my voicemail from a Charles Mcdaniel  at the number 253 216 6983. I could guess by his voice and accent that his name sure as h*** isn't Charles. Any way he was saying I need to call him back immediately or he wished me good luck with what he would put me through in court. I immediately looked up the number because I don't have any reason to be taken to court and found all these other files against him.  My mistake was trying to get a loan online to get a bigger vehicle because I just had a baby. I hope they catch this scum soon!

Everyone posted here,I too received calls starting 6/22/12.I thought he said Scott McColson or sounded like. He had my name and full ss#.that's what scared me as well and said the government was suing me.} Didn't verify I was whom he said nor that that was my ss#,but he gave me a 619 768 1976 # to call for assistance which I found was nonexistence. I googled Investigation Bureau,since that was the company he named,there is one but Not for what he said. They told me what I said as well..Scam! I went to work,asked for 1hr off to try to take care of it .I bought Identity Theft Protection and called FBI. Guess after reading everyone elses notes here, I will also call FTC and local police.Thanks all,good to have these connections and sharings. By the way,after work,he had called 7 more times while I was working. Yes,my voicemails are saved and all calls sounded identical as mentioned with John Blew as a caller.voices in background sound like his too.Sounds like a call center and all with accents! I'm not giving a dime!!! Not changing my # or anything else. I too owe Nothing!

Your stroy is just about identical to mine! I posted above, scroll up!!! I thought I heard McColson, everyone else says Nicholson, in any case my experience is very similar to yours. Looks like June/2012 has been a VERY busy month for them. Haven't had them contact my work place. Guess I better tell HR. My Manager is aware however... I  posted on another site as well. Hope they get posted evrywhere. I see the FTC has been on it, but still can't seem to stop them... watch ALL your accounts folks. I wouldn't be concerned of the courts, jails, taking children all that. But identity theft and monies being stolen,,be wary!!! Did anyone else get a San Diego number to call back for questions you may have? Perhaps I did due to my #.