The "good luck as this situation unfolds" line and the vanilla-sounding alias names for the reps strongly suggest a South Asian fake debt collector. If you really want to know how they've found you and Gramma and the neighbor's pet ferret, think back to when you or someone related gave away a pile of sensitive data to strangers through an online application form.
To be clear, this is extortion dressed as debt collection. The agents' horrid threats are empty and their conduct is illegal. As early as possible it's critical to determine if your collector is domestic or yet another South Asian faker. The former you can sue into submission; the latter tend to be out of reach.
My notes from October 2011 on payday loan and "hot check" collectors are linked below.
http://800notes.com/forum/ta-429fb24ec2162e3/ ... -numbers-here-2
See also this FTC alert: "Fake Debt Collectors"
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0258-fake-debt-collectors
(former title: ''Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake'')
The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling, and will in general help you sniff out the frauds:
official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.shtm
CFPB Q&A on debt collection practices
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/askcfpb/search ... bt%20Collection
I also received one of these calls from this guy saying the exact same thing as you guys. What a loser company. Why can't people just work like the rest of us. It really freaks me out that they have all my personal information including where I work and social security number. Makes me so mad!
I also reported them.
Had the same issue with them told them if they wanted an attorney from me they would get one but from me to sue them made them mad and hung up I spoke with "John Mathews"
I really hope people look up these numbers before they ever take a call from someone like this. It happened to me a year ago and now the same number is calling my husband man say's he is John Morrison. They give you names of real people and I looked the man up on-line he stated he was. These people use real attorney's names to make them appear legimate, but it all bogus. I actually spoke to the attorney who had his identity stolen from this group last year and gave him a taped conversation I had with the thief. He stated he had been working with the police, but couldn't get anywhere.
DO NOT GIVE THESE PEOPLE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT YOURSELF, they are just trying to scam you with scare tactics. THEY ARE NOT ATTORNEY"S TRYING TO COLLECT MONEY FOR A DEBT THEY ARE TRYING TO SCAM YOU FOR $$$$
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 from unscrupulous websites like the one you may have filled out an application with, 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.
ABC News released an investigative report on this scam in June. The FTC has indicted one of its ringleaders for criminal fraud:
Just a quick note to say this SCAM has not been shut down as of today November 10, 2012. My sister got three phone calls from the same number today and was told she was going to be served and arrested for check fraud and money wire transfers. She was even given a case number and told to call a "Mike Clark" which she did and was told he was in a meeting (this happened on a Saturday). Having a case number is what made her worry this could be legit regardless that she did not commit any of the allegations mentioned. The person calling spoke almost no english and was very difficult to understand. Checked attorney records for California and "Mike Clark" was not in any attorney records. The "415" prefix is for Mill Valley, CA. Please make sure you report this to the FTC by either calling 877-FTC-HELP or going on line to fill out the complaint form. According to this blog this has already been going on for over 2 months. They must be getting people to send them money or why else is this still happening..let's get them caught and put a stop to their bullying tactics that cause law abiding citizens to fall prey to them out of fear.