Never let bullies on the phone confuse extortion with debt collection. Honest debt collectors cannot whistle up police to act as their agents, they do not typically send their claims straight to a judge, and they don't take your ransom money to broker quick deals with so-called "process servers". There are no secretive "arbitrators", "assessment specialists", "detectives", "investigators", "mediators", "mitigators", or "prelitigation specialists". Those who tell you such lies are sweaty double-talking criminals with a script full of coercive remarks. The agents' horrid threats are empty and their conduct is illegal.
Lawful debt collection in America is a process, not an ambush. Early in that process you must be given a specific notice about your alleged debt and how to dispute it. From there, you have a right to obtain proof of claim on paper. You have a right to control when, where, and how debt collectors contact you. Federal law does not expect you to take only the word of strangers on the phone that bad things are about to happen. Do not reward lawbreakers with your money. Challenge them always, sue them if you can.
CFPB and FTC material on US federal collection law:
CFPB Q&A on consumer debt collection
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, FTC HTML page, current to 2010 amendment
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, FTC PDF copy, current to 2010 amendment, issued May 2013
FTC alert: "Fake Debt Collectors"
FTC blog: "Don’t recognize that debt? Here’s what to do."
Apparently I forgot about a loan from years ago. I even had done payday assist and forgot about it. Today I took a call after having gotten many messages and blocked their numbers. I was curious to see what they wanted. They knew last 4 of ss and the address where I lived when I took the loan, in 08 or 09. The guy, American, named Anthony Atwell, said Broward county was trying to prosecute me for felont fraud, bank fraud, etc. I freaked out when he said they were trying to get over $3000 from me. He went to "speak to legal" and came back saying I'd be safe if I paid $675 today. I said I'd have to borrow money to do it and he said he would put in a stop action or song like that. Now after reading all these, do I have to deal with these people? The number where they called from is 740-475-0473, in Lancaster, Ohio.