From everything I'm reading, this is pretty much looking like a scam. Bottom line, everything he said is breaking FDCPA laws. The scammers in foreign country's have not got a clue how our laws work really. Debt is a civil matter and you can not be arrested for owing a debt. Below are the laws, and other info in regards.Know your rights! Demand a legal address, demand a debt validation. With extortion scams, file reports with all agency's. You may want to consider a call blocking device or phone also. The T-lock Incoming PRO Call Blocker sells for under 60 bucks on Amazon and can block up to 1500 numbers.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=call+blockers
Please do file reports with the FBI, your state attorney general and Department Of Justice,FTC & FCC..
http://800notes.com/forum/ta-86217073a9c8dad/ ... 077595690349410
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http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0258-fake-debt-collectors
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http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/pressreleases/extortion_scam.htm
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A Collection Agent May Not…
Here are the top 11 actions prohibited by the The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:
Misrepresent Him or Herself
A debt collector may not misrepresent himself as an attorney or law enforcement officer.
Use the Telephone to Annoy or Harass
A collection agent may not cause a telephone to ring or engage any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with an intent to annoy, abuse, or harass anyone at the called number.
Threaten Arrest or Lawsuit
A collection agent may not threaten a consumer with arrest. It may not threaten legal action that is either not permitted or not actually contemplated. In other words, a the threat of a lawsuit may be an empty one.
Use Abusive or Threatening Language
A debt collector may no use abusive or profane language in the course of communication related to the debt.
Publish a Bad Debt List
Publishing the consumer’s name or address on a "bad debt" list is prohibited.
Contact By Embarrassing Media
A debt collector may not communicate with a consumer by post card. It may not use any language or symbol, other than the debt collector’s address, on any envelope when communicating with a consumer by use of the mails or by telegram. A debt collector may use its business name if such name does not indicate it is in the debt collection business.
Contact a Consumer at Work
A collection agent may not communicate with consumers at their place of employment after being told this is unacceptable or prohibited by the employer.
Seek Unjustifiable Amounts
A debt collector may not demand any amounts not permitted under an applicable contract or as provided under law.
Contact a Consumer Represented by an Attorney
A collection agent may not contact a consumer after it learns the consumer is represented by a lawyer.
Communicate With a Consumer After Receiving a Validation Request
If a consumer sends a written §1692g response within 30 days, the collection agent may not communicate with the consumer until it mails the consumer the requested verification of original creditor's name and address.
Communicate With Third Parties
A debt collector may not reveal or discuss the nature of a consumer’s debts with third parties other than the consumer’s spouse or attorney. A collection agent may contact neighbors or co-workers only to obtain location information. It may contact a third party again if it has reason to believe the information the party provided previously is false.
Bills.com FDCPA FAQ
Below are questions Bills.com readers ask frequently:
Can a Collection Agent Call My Cell Phone?
Yes. However, if you tell the debt collector it may not use that number because it is a cell phone, it may not contact you again at that number.
I Keep Receiving Dozens of Calls From Collection Agents. Is That Legal?
No. Unscrupulous collection agents will use "block parties" or "office parties" where they contact a consumer, multiple neighbors, or co-workers telling them they need to reach the consumer on an urgent matter. This is not permitted under the FDCPA.
A Collector Says I Will Be Arrested if I Do Not Pay
This was a true statement before the US Civil War, but has not been true since. People may be arrested if an aggressive judge files a bench warrant for a person who does not appear at a hearing relating to a lawsuit regarding a debt. However, in that case, the offense is the failure to respond to a court order, and not the existence of the debt. As stated above, it is illegal under the FDCPA to threaten a consumer with arrest if the consumer does not pay the debt.
i have been receving messages from this Indian guy claiming to be edwin jones sanders he was very rude threating me if i did not return his call within 2 hours that in would be arrested either at my residence or at my place of work. i want these calls to stop he wouldnt even say what company he was with. this has me very upset
From everything I'm reading, this is pretty much looking like a scam. Bottom line, everything he said is breaking FDCPA laws. The scammers in foreign country's have not got a clue how our laws work really. Debt is a civil matter and you can not be arrested for owing a debt. Below are the laws, and other info in regards.Know your rights! Demand a legal address, demand a debt validation. With extortion scams, file reports with all agency's. You may want to consider a call blocking device or phone also. The T-lock Incoming PRO Call Blocker sells for under 60 bucks on Amazon and can block up to 1500 numbers.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=call+blockers
Please do file reports with the FBI, your state attorney general and Department Of Justice,FTC & FCC..
http://800notes.com/forum/ta-86217073a9c8dad/ ... 077595690349410
************
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0258-fake-debt-collectors
************
http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/pressreleases/extortion_scam.htm
*********************
A Collection Agent May Not…
Here are the top 11 actions prohibited by the The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:
Misrepresent Him or Herself
A debt collector may not misrepresent himself as an attorney or law enforcement officer.
Use the Telephone to Annoy or Harass
A collection agent may not cause a telephone to ring or engage any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with an intent to annoy, abuse, or harass anyone at the called number.
Threaten Arrest or Lawsuit
A collection agent may not threaten a consumer with arrest. It may not threaten legal action that is either not permitted or not actually contemplated. In other words, a the threat of a lawsuit may be an empty one.
Use Abusive or Threatening Language
A debt collector may no use abusive or profane language in the course of communication related to the debt.
Publish a Bad Debt List
Publishing the consumer’s name or address on a "bad debt" list is prohibited.
Contact By Embarrassing Media
A debt collector may not communicate with a consumer by post card. It may not use any language or symbol, other than the debt collector’s address, on any envelope when communicating with a consumer by use of the mails or by telegram. A debt collector may use its business name if such name does not indicate it is in the debt collection business.
Contact a Consumer at Work
A collection agent may not communicate with consumers at their place of employment after being told this is unacceptable or prohibited by the employer.
Seek Unjustifiable Amounts
A debt collector may not demand any amounts not permitted under an applicable contract or as provided under law.
Contact a Consumer Represented by an Attorney
A collection agent may not contact a consumer after it learns the consumer is represented by a lawyer.
Communicate With a Consumer After Receiving a Validation Request
If a consumer sends a written §1692g response within 30 days, the collection agent may not communicate with the consumer until it mails the consumer the requested verification of original creditor's name and address.
Communicate With Third Parties
A debt collector may not reveal or discuss the nature of a consumer’s debts with third parties other than the consumer’s spouse or attorney. A collection agent may contact neighbors or co-workers only to obtain location information. It may contact a third party again if it has reason to believe the information the party provided previously is false.
Bills.com FDCPA FAQ
Below are questions Bills.com readers ask frequently:
Can a Collection Agent Call My Cell Phone?
Yes. However, if you tell the debt collector it may not use that number because it is a cell phone, it may not contact you again at that number.
I Keep Receiving Dozens of Calls From Collection Agents. Is That Legal?
No. Unscrupulous collection agents will use "block parties" or "office parties" where they contact a consumer, multiple neighbors, or co-workers telling them they need to reach the consumer on an urgent matter. This is not permitted under the FDCPA.
A Collector Says I Will Be Arrested if I Do Not Pay
This was a true statement before the US Civil War, but has not been true since. People may be arrested if an aggressive judge files a bench warrant for a person who does not appear at a hearing relating to a lawsuit regarding a debt. However, in that case, the offense is the failure to respond to a court order, and not the existence of the debt. As stated above, it is illegal under the FDCPA to threaten a consumer with arrest if the consumer does not pay the debt.
i keep getting threating phone calls from this number . this guy is from india and he is very rude telling me if i dont return his call within 2hrs i will be arrested. these phone calls need to stop. this guy says i will be arrested either at my home or at my place of work. he says his name is edwin jones sanders
This is a criminal extortion scam operating out of India. They are making the calls utilizing VOIP and the names of legitimate firms to make it appear the calls are originating from within the US. There is NO "company" or "debt" and you will NOT be arrested. They are harvesting and/or buying consumers' personal identifying information and you need to do whatever you can to protect yourself. This includes: Notifying the FTC: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/, placing fraud alerts with all three credit bureaus, notifying your bank and employer and letting these criminals know you are aware they are attempting to extort money for a non-existent debt and have alerted the authorities.
Read this investigative report ABC News did on this scam:
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 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.
Hahaha was it Austin Black? I got a call from that name who said that he's from the I ternal revenue service and that I owe money. That if I don't pay now that I will be arrested and everything. I just [***] around with him and made him so mad that he hung up on me.