Thank you for your post that so clearly details how these scammers operate. It will help potential victims. If you gave them personal info, you may be targeted for ID theft. The Better Business Bureau has released many alerts on this scam, google "bbb.org alert phony debt collector" Scams mutate so read all the alerts to get a flavor of what they are.
this is one number used by a drug selling scam called pharma plus - the
caller said he was from the DEA and some other Federal agency in New Jersey
and i was to be ordered into federal court in oregon for ordering a drug from them. They intimidate drug users/buyers. sent fake oxycontin 80 and promise drugs for cash - which goes to the Dominican Republic. I called
Western Union and told them Leonardo Juliao was a part of the scam and then got the "D E A" threat.
I ordered 120 phentermine on a saturday, to be delivered by monday. monday I received a call that they do not dispense in 120, but can send 280, but first I have to send $289 more dollars. at that point i was sure i'd been scammed... had a feeling before that, but that was the solidifier.
"Peter" keeps calling each day to let me know my package is just sitting there waiting to be sent as soon as I send him my $289 additional. i keep telling him i'm not sending more and that he needs to release my prescription that has already been paid for. he went as far as printing a fedex label so it looks like a really have a package waiting, but nothing has ever actually been picked up, and i'm sure never will be.
I was caught for shoplifting at Nordstrom. The police were not called and I am making restitution as my punishment. It is the worst thing I have ever done in my life & I have truly suffered with the guilt. My restitution was to pay Nordstrom Civil Claims twice the amount of what I took. I lost the 1st letter & called the phone number on the 2nd Nordstrom letter I recently received. I then received a call from an individual saying he was "Lieutenant James Kaster", who informed me he was in charge of my case and that because I had not paid anything yet, I was going to jail and will lose my job. He also told me not to call the original Nordstrom phone # on the letter and to only deal directly with him. He berated me for about 30 minutes and then said he was going to do me a favor if I wired money via Western Union to "Leonardo Juliao" in the Dominican Republic & if I didn't do this immediately, he would call the police to have me picked up at my workplace. I asked the officer why I had to wire money for Nordstrom to the Dominican Republic. He said it was due to tax reasons & he shouldn't even be telling me this of he could lose his job. I was so upset, I stupidly wired the money. However, something didn't feel right. I immediately called Western Union, explained the situation & they stopped the transfer from being picked up by "Leonardo Juliao". Luckily, the money was never picked up in the Dominican Republic. You can only imagine how many calls I got when the individual in the Dominican Republic wasn't getting the money. I have never been so scared in all my life. I called Nordstrom's Civil Claims office and told them what happened. They said they would look into the matter and call me back. It has been 48 hours and I have heard nothing. I tried calling the phone number on the letter again, and it is the same situation. I am in a quandary of where to send my money for my mistake. But these guys are great scammers and have no mercy. Western Union reported this to the FBI and I reported it to Nordstrom, but who knows what will happen.
Also, just to include one more thing, "Lt. James Kaster" said I am on a list of people of who have ordered drugs out of the country and that I am being watched. When I told him I didn't know what he was talking about, he said, just by my answer, he knew I had order medication before. I believe these people are dangerous. I'm looking over my shoulder all the time.