This is a very active group of overseas scammers who attempt to extort money from Americans with a myriad of false and illegal threats. They alternately pose as debt collectors, federal and state law enforcement officers, lawyers and bankers. They use any number of phony names such as US National Bank, US Legal Investigation Bureau, Hopkins Law Office, Morgan Associates, White Collar Crime Unit and many more. These crooks often use caller-id spoofing software and/or VoIP to disguise their real location and to make it appear that they are calling from American area codes.
One thing to remember is that anytime someone calls you demanding money to prevent your arrest, it is ALWAYS a scam. No debt collector (let alone criminals posing as debt collectors) have 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.
The bottom line is, these are criminals trying to steal your money. I suggest you do all the following (most of which you can do online):
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 give them all the details.
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://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01
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:
My call was the same as the other callers, threatened to lock me up and file charges. This was on a payday loan back in 2005. I had looked up the US National Bank and the info that came up said this was a scam that there was no US National Bank and that foreigners were using this for a scam to get money out of people. They would not give me any info on the amount owed. They just wanted money by 4:30 today or I would get locked up. Got to checking into this and found this site. Reported to the Attorney General in our state and contacted a lawyer and they would not give him any info or a mailing address. Lawyer advised to record info if they call again.
I received a call from these people yesterday. They said this was on a loan or something that was took back in 2005. I told him I had never had any dealings with a U.S. National Bank so he had to have the wrong person. Then he told me I needed to have my attorney contact them or they were going to have me downloaded by 4:30 p.m. I told him not to call me back at work and download me if he needed to. So, they called me back at 3:00 p.m. At this point I had already found this site and contacted the Attorney General. So I told him I knew this was a scam and that they had been reported to the Attorney General. He got really mad and I told him at that point not to call me back at work. Well I hung up and guess what he called straight back and the office manager answered the phone and told him not to call back here and he told her not to get smart with him. So she hung up on him and he called right back again. I answered and he asked me if I wanted him to come over here and f**k me in the bloody a**hole. I said execuse me and he repeated himself. So I told him to go to he!! and never call my work place again and he called right back and asked what the "f" was my problem and what kind of "f in" business was we running over here and I was like excuse me sir, you have been very vugular with me and I will not take this from you. No one talks to me that way and I hung up. He preceded to call back about 20 or so times.
So I got a call from the Attorney General this morning and she said they have called the number which we all have got a call from and they told her they were a debt collection agency. She said that she is very doubtful it is legit. So they are going to contact them on my behalf and tell them not to have anymore contact with me and they will keep me updated. I hope they get shut down and locked up!!!!
worried citizen= i feel your pain. they keep calling my work place too. i called back and told them the fbi has been notified and they are investigating it. i am calling my atty generals office next as well. they are rude indians and i am getting extremely frustrated. what is the name of the person that is contacting you?