I recieved a call on my cell from a number that came up only as 888. Of course, I was confused, and didn't answer. There was a number left by a man with a thick asian-seeming accent claiming to be Simon McKenzie. He then went on to say that I, or my attorney, need to call him back at 323-317-9726. He said not to disregard the message, and if I did, then he wished me good luck in the events that were about to unfold.
A guy ( who had a foriegn voice)calls for my wife saids leaves a message on the answer machine and at the end wished her good luck. She calls back and tries to find out what was going on.. He said she owed $1300 to a payday advance company called sonic. When asked for information...all he said was there from a law firm and wouldn't even give information about the company that she was being sued from. He gave no info but hes number and he's name was Danny Watson. Then he started to tell her about she will be arrested by the next day.. He's a fraud and report him right away. Don't be fooled by this A-Hole...!!
I received the same call from a danny Watson and later from a Simon Mackenzie. I called Sonic Bank and they said they have no record that I ever took a payday loan with them. For me to report them to the FBI, Secret Service and all local and state offices.
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 if the crooks claim to be law enforcement or lawyers, officers of the court or bankers, be sure to include that information in your report.
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://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en
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:
I received a msg on my cell phone to cal a Brian Drees (not sure about last name due to a thick foreign accent) & Donna Jackson about an important business matter & if I did not call back good luck. I wanted to know what the issue was and called him back. He told me that he was from a law firm & I that I owed $1500 for a payday loan that I had received from Sonic Bank. He had my address, bank acct #, & the last 4 digits of my SSN. I explained that I have never taken out a payday loan & did not owe anything. He then told me that he was going to download my case tonigt & a police officer would show up at my house the next day & if I was not there they would come to my job. I asked to speak to a supervisor & he refused. He then said that I could pay on the acct today & send an apology letter to stop the case from going to authories. I hung up on him in frustration & upon calling back no one answered the phone.
Exact same thing happened us today, they are obviously hitting the phones today hitting a bunch of people. I called them back again again and told them I wanted to pay them (a joke obviously) and they could not find my name. Mess with these people.