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 got a call from these people just a few minutes ago. The guy left a message, and was very demanding that I call back, and then threatening if i didn't call back, that the consequences would be on me. He stated his name was Eric Miller, and had a very heavy Indian accent. I called back, angry at the tone of his message, and spoke to someone who claimed her name was Michelle Brown, also with a heavy accent, claiming to be an attorney and that I had been contacted by one of her paralegals regarding Pay Day Loans that i had not paid. She stated she wanted my attorneys information to fax legal documents regarding this matter, then asked if I had not been receiving phone calls from the police department last week. When i said no, she said that I was getting arrested today, and proceeded to hang up the phone on me..
These people need to find something else to do.
I just received a call today from a Michele Brown saying that I will be arrested tomorrow because of a payday loan that I supposedly taken out but never payed back. When I ask for information about the account she hung up on me. I tried to call back and they are not answering the phone.
I to recieved multiple phone calls from these people and they threatend to have me arrested. They sound as if they are from INDIA. There were several calls with several different call back numbers all which trace back to a Vo IP phone number the names they are using ar Eric Johnson, Roy King Rbin MillerOne number was 818-446-6753, 415-952-5630. Roy King was very rude to me on the phone and threatend that I would be arrested in one day If I did not pay him 420.00 I could not understand the lw firm that he supposedly worked for but he told me to go to walmart and by a greendot card and to call him with the number from the back of the card.he first demanded I pay 840.00. Thanks to this blog I have the confidence to tell him to take a hike and that I am pressing charges against them for harrasment. I will be calling my boss and letting them know what is happening in the morning. I am also filing charges with my local atthoritees in the morning. I will be ready for him when he calls tomorrow and I will give him an earful when he does.
How do you report this to the FTC? I got a call from the same number from "Eric Jones". He left a message that me or my retained lawyer should call him "the very second" I received the message, & if I didn't he could only "wish me luck as the future events unfold"! I was laughing my head off, but now I'm mad. I had also looked into a payday loan, but decided against it. Glad I did. I'd hate to see what they did if I actually did borrow money from them!!