Amy: No one is quite so dangerous to scofflaw and fake debt collectors as an educated industry refugee. Your comments indicate you had unusually good FDCPA compliance training. I hope to see more of your input on sites like this. Here is what little I could add:

The "locksmith" front may be a number spoof and/or get this company into a "false and misleading" violation count. Typically a "fraud investigation" means a payday loan or "hot check" claim, often made of thin air and of course heinous since debtors in America are not criminals.

Other fine complaint desks include attorneys general in your state and the home state of the thug collector, and soon the CFPB should have a channel open for debt collection issues. Of course, nothing says how much you care for your fellow consumers like a summons and complaint, assuming the agency is domestic. (.... in your case assisting your employee's civil action through call logs and testimony)

Nobahd, the only clear observation is that, like Marie, you're too full of steam to *fully read* and comprehend what I've had to say about PRA and your rights which they enjoy violating. If, as I've advised hundreds of times on these sites, you read the FDCPA and the FTC material on debt collection you will find that you have not "called me out" on anything. I am merely condensing your best defense options when a third party collector has your name on some moldy account, *OR* when the collector wants someone who is not you.

I'm sure you did inform PRA reps "many many" times they had the wrong guy, and did so only verbally. The worst agencies think you're a liar and keep calling some more. That is why I stress using real ink and paper and Certified Mail. You might have saved yourself 35 months of grief with a single notice. The mint green receipt card makes it much easier to win a lawsuit (and not "suite") if the agency is dumb enough to ignore your written "shut up" order.

Laws can't help you if you don't understand how to use them. So sorry if my trying to provide guidance is so offensive. Call me a shill if you like, but no current employee of a scofflaw debt collector is going to carefully explain to you precisely how to ruin its plans for you and your assets. Anyway, you don't have to listen to me. Here's some newer beginner's help material on the FDCPA from the CFPB in Q&A format:

consumerfinance.gov

FirstSource Advantage, long ago named Account Solutions Group before an Indian firm bought the Buffalo debt collection agency. Most of the calls are autodialed from Mumbai and their reps frequently have a painful time speaking English and reading from their scripts. The debt accounts are also managed on auto-pilot; it may be months before an actual human sees your written notices. Sooner or later they will deny your consumer rights, giving you cause to sue.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB Q&A on debt collection practices
consumerfinance.gov

Okay, be frugal and keep a budget. Got it. Meantime, nobody in this very short thread spanning five years has discussed your implied ''running from responsibility'' or how to live like a welfare queen on a swipe card. The general thrust is the highly suspect and illegal activity of a major high volume debt collection agency, one long and well known for clawing at people's assets by violating their rights.

In May 2004 the FTC fined these scofflaws $1.5 mil for falsifying reports to the credit bureaus, violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

NCO Group to Pay Largest FCRA Civil Penalty to Date [press release]
ftc.gov

NCO Financial has since been in trouble with and fined by state regulators in Pennsylvania and Texas, January 2006 and December 2008 respectively. In February 2012 NCO was penalized over a half mil by a consortium of *nineteen* other states. How does anyone piss off 42% of the nation and the federal government and still sleep a full night? You want me to ''dig my own grave'' and get buried? If they come calling here THEY can go first!

Attorney General Corbett announces settlement agreement with PA based debt collector NCO Financial Systems
attorneygeneral.gov

NCO Group Announces Settlement with Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
budhibbs.com

Dallas County District Court order
oag.state.tx.us

NCO Financial Systems, Inc’s Settlement with the State of Texas
deanmalone.com

NCO Announces Settlement With Several States
bizjournals.com

It's never my intention to oversimplify or mislead, (even two years after I comment) so I'll try to patch my prior remarks.

I was in fact referring to a variable-by-state SoL for a creditor filing a collection suit, one which begins running at the point of contractual default. For example, you walk from a Visa card account in Kentucky. The original creditor or a junk debt buyer has five years to safely get you sued from your date of last activity or last payment. (Determining the precise date isn't always straightforward.)

Any SoL running two decades would be the result of a creditor winning a judgment. At that point, you have a judge saying that crummy debt is valid and the collector can take its sweet time bleeding you. Obviously, you don't want that around your neck like a boat anchor, so you first concentrate on beating or avoiding the creditor lawsuit. If you are sued after that five years in Kentucky, or whatever period in your state, SoL is a killer affirmative defense and a FDCPA cause of action. In English, you can make the plaintiff pay *you* for suing over a mold-encrusted account and get their case dismissed.

Now for the curious .... When I ran the numbers in Q2 2012, the national average of all state SoL in the four major debt categories (Oral, Written, Promissory, Open) was a bit under six years. Fourteen states, or 28% of the US, had at least one SoL which exceeds six years. A smaller handful punishes debtors with two or more long SoL clocks. Off the cuff, if a bank can't get its s&it together within four years after your default it really has no room to accuse you of bad money management.

further reading
creditinfocenter.com
cardreport.com

No Name: You're hearing a typical ''Foti message'', a clumsy industry response to a legal conflict. A debt collector must make ''meaningful disclosure'' of its identity yet respect the privacy of whoever is named on a debt account. When leaving messages, collectors try to remain mysterious while getting a person to self-authenticate. This severely clouds the issue of what makes their canned calls illegal.

In the USA one collection phone call a day would not be considered illegal. Many per day would cross into ''annoying and harassing'' per federal law. You'll waste your time trying to end the calls verbally. Communicate via USPS Certified Mail with return card with either a full ''cease communication'' notice if you owe nothing or a demand for validation and no more calls if there is a chance you do owe something.

Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Why did you not read the rules you agreed to at registration time? The FTC nudged you more than once to do that. See Item #28.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Why did you not try to name or describe your caller here? That would help your fellow readers a great deal more than whining about a federal program you've misunderstood. It would help to know if this caller is actually in the right or is ignoring federal law.

FTC Consumer Alert: Hang Up on Illegal Robocalls
ftc.gov

Debt collectors must answer to privacy regs within the FDCPA, hence their obfuscation in messages and demands for identifying data in live calls. Of course, being shadowy works in their favor to make call targets anxious. You are not obligated to help or answer them, and may in fact wisely force the whole exchange to paper mail if you give proper notice.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

John, no one else reading this page can ''please stop the calls'' on your behalf. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until, if possible, you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

George: Surveyors are not held by federal law to the thirteen hour daily calling window, beginning at 08:00 daily in your time zone, imposed on sales and debt collection calls. Only your state law might say any different to overcome this. The more polite survey firms choose to observe similar hours, but are not out of bounds until either they call against your express orders to quit or the ''survey'' is a cheap ruse to disguise a sales call.


Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Marie, I have to question your reading comprehension if you think I am ''legitimizing'' PRA. You obviously didn't see that other thread I linked back in April, either. If you're sure your Mom was taken for a ride, I hope you helped her to file suit before it was too late.

The cowards abandoned the call before my answering recorder greeting could finish. 800Notes comments tend to agree it's another girlfriend of ''Rachel'' and ''Heather'' which the FTC needs to hogtie in its next criminal roundup.


FTC Leads Joint Law Enforcement Effort Against Companies That Allegedly Made Deceptive “Cardholder Services” Robocalls
Agency Gets Court Orders Disconnecting Five of Them
ftc.gov

FTC Action Halts Debt Relief Marketing Operation
Allegedly Made Illegal Robocalls, Debited Consumers' Bank Accounts Without Their Consent
ftc.gov

FTC Action Puts Robocallers Out of the Telemarketing Business
Defendants Allegedly Responsible for Billions of Calls; Will Give Up Assets Totaling Roughly $3 Million
ftc.gov

Adams Sentenced To Over 17 Years In Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Telemarketing Fraud Scheme
justice.gov

Five months after your FTC spanking all you have for me is a juvenile and redundant insult? Well, I suppose I can't expect a creative response from criminals. As to my life which concerns you so, none of my employers have ever been named as Defendant in federal court. None of my clients have felt that extortion and lies are part of a sound business policy. Why don't you LBA drones just admit you were all wrong and get busy making decorative coasters from those ''debt fixer'' CDs?


ftc.gov
FTC Returns Just Over $11,000 to Consumers Who Were Allegedly Charged an Illegal Advance Fee for a Credit Repair Product
28 Sep 2012 [excerpts]

In May 2012, third-party debt collector Luebke Baker & Associates, owner Kevin Luebke, and other defendants ... marketed a credit repair CD titled ''Credit Solutions,'' allegedly collecting an up-front fee before providing any goods or services, in violation of the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule .... The settlement required the defendants to pay for refunds to all consumers who paid an advance fee to buy the Credit Solutions CD.

Ginn: Maybe it's a ''Dear Neighbor Campaign'', as in fundraising for a barely legal ''charity'' through a hired telemarketer.

Diversified Consultants (DCI) is a debt collection agency. Currently 800Notes has only one report for this number from August.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Okay, I won't call you. I can't anyway until I become a good enough sorcerer to determine your phone number right through an anonymous comment in a discussion page.

Now would someone like to describe or name a mystery caller and actually make this page useful?

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

No, you can only repair what you sew. You can sow a crop, and therefore reap that. Now please take your soap opera to CraigsList Rants and Raves where someone might care about it.

Another girlfriend of Heather and Rachel wanted to rip off my Dad on Election Day. He's received several versions of the credit reprice scam calls via message, all incomplete since their autodialers can't tell a machine has responded. We don't have a return phone number or a name if any were given.

I don't recognize this version or the canned female voice. The track had a very poor edit making one phrase unintelligible. As usual, ''it is urgent'' that some warm body respond by keypress, which of course can't be done retroactively.

I would note that the carrier ''Level 3'' was in the past seen frequently as an email spam harbor, and is recently associated with a notable percentage of illegal sales phone call traffic. Possibly not as bad as Asia Pacific or that goon lawyer behind PacTel, but bad enough.

Would you mind identifying ''these people'' if possible? That would help fellow readers here much more than your repeated tantrums.

(6266688223) whocalled.us
(3122016801) whocalled.us

Would you mind identifying ''these people'' if possible? That would help fellow readers here much more than your repeated tantrums.

(9317562225) whocalled.us
(3122016801) whocalled.us

Marc, your ''rebellion'' is a non-starter while you remain ignorant of the rules *you agreed to* when you registered your numbers.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:
(2846436572) whocalled.us

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

Some relief came the first week in October 2012 as the FTC spanked whole gangs of these creeps with huge damage awards.

FTC Halts Massive Tech Support Scams
ftc.gov

... or BoA took over a defunct Borders customer service line and never bothered to update the Caller ID tag. (the CNAM, specifically) Caution would be wise regardless.

Parker, your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments.

Here is the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Right you are, Jen. A debt collection skip tracer can only try to obtain a person's location per the FDCPA, not use other people as messengers or otherwise violate an alleged debtor's privacy. Your ''locator'' playmate was trying to create false shame, hoping to flush out the target in a hurry. The hunted person can use this incident against the collection agency in a lawsuit, provided it's not another South Asian faker.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act: ftc.gov
CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: consumerfinance.gov

Be careful what you tell these goons, Richard. Depending on your jurisdiction, saying ''I couldn't afford to pay'' is close enough to ''I owe this debt'' to make you liable if the creditor feels litigious. Paying some moldy debt does nothing to improve your credit ranking, therefore no debt collector can claim that your obedience will ''fix your credit'' as he clumsily put it. Suggesting as much, in fact, in a collections effort is unlawful per the Credit Repair Organizations Act.

First you're told it's one bill, then suddenly you have a second conveniently forgotten bill? Somewhere in the rude behavior and dubious claims you may have multiple FDCPA violations you can heave back in a lawsuit. Sit tight and wait for your federally required dunning letter. Dispute and document, pay out rope for the agency to hang itself.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

KR, debt collectors want your money, not your excuses. Having ''explained the situation'' does not release you from the terms of a lender contract.

You may want to make certain it's TFS calling and not a third party collector in disguise. You can invoke FDCPA protection to raise a debt dispute and silence the calls if the latter is true. (The sloppy skip tracing reported in older posts here creates that suspicion.) Otherwise you'll need to live in one of the few states which aims a similar law at original creditors.

Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

If you were serious about that threat you would not be announcing it in a vague and badly composed remark where RPM can't respond directly.

Lulu, stop assuming your callers can be directly contacted through this site.
(2026268805) whocalled.us

Lulu, your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Thanks so much for failing to identfiy ''these guys'' and their ''phony posts on this site''. If you're going to crosspost from 800Notes, you might at least pay attention to the lack of context here.

''Same message'' as what, please?

How nice for you. Would someone like to report an unknown caller next?

This is extortion dressed as debt collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs from Oct 2011 can be seen on the lead page.

See also this FTC alert:
Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act: ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: consumerfinance.gov

Comments elsewhere indicate telemarketer Worldwide Commerce Associates. If you are getting their calls, there is a very good chance that YOU INVITED them, even if unwittingly. More is explained in the next link.

(6093189538) whocalled.us

Here is the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

First Financial Asset Management is a debt collection agency. The federal Do-Not-Call registry exists to help enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Please note the operative term ''marketing''. A debt collector is not a sales person. Here are the DNC service terms you were supposed to review at registration time:

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Here is offficial-type material on US federal collection law which *does* apply:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

You are correct, and I've seen that flimsy excuse reported before. When the call has an underlying sales purpose the Telemarketing Sales Rule applies, and therefore so does the federal Do Not Call registry.

Here is the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

You are likely to find, as I said here two years ago, that the calls are placed by a commercial fundraiser, such as Associated Community Services, Dial America, Donor Services Group, Harris, InfoCision, MDS, and TeleFund. As commercial entities, these hired call centers are expected to honor an internal no-call list and add any number upon request. Break that order, the FTC declares, and ''the telemarketer may be subject to a fine of up to $16,000.'' They are also covered to a point by other regulations for telepests, so you can kvetch about abandoned calls, bot calls to mobile phones, and so on.

In a comment from Jan 2012 linked below, find the simple steps I took to rid myself of a major pain boiler room by politely rubbing its face in federal laws. You will note that I never rely on verbal cease-communication demands.
(9018819984) whocalled.us

It is unwise to publish a phone number you meant to protect in an open forum where any data harvester and scammer can find it.

These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice. They are *NOT* direct open channels to the phone bank boiler rooms we comment upon. The magic phrase you want for salesmen is ''Place my number *on* your Do Not Call list''.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

... but probably very illegal.

My comments from two years ago in a thread linked below fills in some background, and the ''Stop Tom'' site gives you an idea of the current messy state of the problem.

(4014010125) whocalled.us
stoptomwithhomeprotection.wordpress.com

Sit tight for more calls from the same scammers and all their friends now that you've confirmed a ''live one''.

Comments elsewhere point to Americollect Inc. in Manitowoc, WI.

Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Focus Receivables Management is a debt collection agency. My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

Mr. Hart, no one else reading this page can ''please remove your name'' from anything on your behalf. No one can magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Debt in America is considered a civil matter, not criminal. This is still true regarding payday loan debt, no matter what some mouth-breather on the phone tells you. This firm with its ''warrants'' is committing extortion dressed as debt collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs from Oct 2011 can be seen on the lead page.

See also this FTC alert:
Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Not that you'd want to rely on verbal orders anyway, which a determined debt collector will pretend to have never heard. My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

This sounds like debt collection, or perhaps we should say extortion dressed as collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs from Oct 2011 can be seen on the lead page.

See also this FTC alert:
Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Another fine example of internet marketing at fire sale prices .... Capitalized spam dumped from a mobile phone by a punk in Eastern Europe who can't be bothered to name the business which paid him.

Okay, I will. Now would someone care to report a phone call?

''Other telemarketers'' have been domestic and respectful of our laws, Mickey. The credit reprice scammers use ''opt-out'' provisions as a means of confirming that a human will answer your phone, and then keep on calling and/or selling the ''lead'' to fellow criminals. This is the same business model as seen among email spammers.

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

It also advocates a strategy similar to that adopted by spam combat veterans. In that realm, it's reporting to ''upstream providers'' like an ISP or a web host. For these junk calls, you contact the state regulators who have oversight of the various phone number blocks in use. Two states have thus far revoked licensing for what is thought to be a major player in illegal calls.

Siiighhh .... AGAIN ... Did you read the rules when you registered numbers on the federal Do Not Call list? Yes or no? Did this caller try to sell you a product or service? Yes or no? Until you answer those for yourself you can't go on wailing about ''constant violations'' of the Telemarketing Sales Rule.

Here is the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

To halt charity calls you must revoke permission to call yourself. You are likely to find the calls are placed by a commercial fundraiser, such as Associated Community Services, Dial America, Donor Services Group, Harris, InfoCision, MDS, and TeleFund. As commercial entities, these hired call centers are expected to honor an internal no-call list and add any number upon request. Break that order, the FTC declares, and ''the telemarketer may be subject to a fine of up to $16,000.'' They are also covered to a point by other regulations for telepests, so you can kvetch about abandoned calls, bot calls to mobile phones, and so on.

In a comment from Jan 2012 linked below, find the simple steps I took to rid myself of a major pain boiler room by politely rubbing its face in federal laws. You will note that I never rely on verbal cease-communication demands.
(9018819984) whocalled.us

This sounds like debt collection, or perhaps we should say extortion dressed as collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs from Oct 2011 can be seen on the lead page.

See also this FTC alert:
Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Like many people, E, you're convinced that nothing has been done by federal regulators and attorneys general to kill off credit reprice scammers and junk callers with autodialers in general. If you spend only a few minutes on the problem that belief dissolves. Here's what the FTC has been up to for the past few years:

Enforcement of the Do Not Call Registry (summary, links)
ftc.gov

Enforcement Action Announcements - Alphabetical
ftc.gov

Press Releases - Chronological
ftc.gov

Here are some credit reprice scammers in Atlanta headed to jail this year:

Adams Sentenced To Over 17 Years In Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Telemarketing Fraud Scheme
justice.gov

The FTC held meetings all day long a few weeks ago to better define the problem and do more than rely on rules which the criminals are always going to ignore:

Federal Trade Commission to Host Robocall Summit
ftc.gov

FTC Challenges Innovators to Do Battle with Robocallers
ftc.gov

Complaints to DNC form a handy pool of intel for law enforcement, something you are all prompted to read about at registration. Those complaints have helped the FTC choke off several credit reprice scammers since 2009. If you hope for more prompt human assistance, file complaints with the FTC and attorneys general. Individual action through a TCPA lawsuit would be a strong suggestion, if anyone manages to corner one of these scammers long enough. People, this is not a sprint, it's a marathon. You won't see relief tomorrow, but it will come if you do your part to fight for it.

As cited all of once on this page back in March, this number is reported elsewhere as linked to General Collection Services / GC Services, a debt collection acgency. They like to use ''Operations Division'' for a Caller ID name tag to sound properly scary when working municipal and traffic court debt. They are also reported to spoof numbers local to you. They've been a longtime servicer of American Express, which turns a blind eye to the lawbreaking of its hired collector.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:
(2846436572) whocalled.us

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

Some relief came the first week in October 2012 as the FTC spanked whole gangs of these creeps with huge damage awards.

FTC Halts Massive Tech Support Scams
ftc.gov

It's not helping her case that ''Jane'' was also ''Sandie''.

That's fine. The collector does not provide validation? You do not provide money.

You should be requesting validation in writing anyway, if you haven't missed your 30 day dispute window. If you don't get your required initial dunning letter soon after the first collection call, the agency is already in violation of the FDCPA.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Here is the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Naturally the ''same thing happened'' since Playboy and Corey are the same person.

errrrm .... what ''previous poster''?

Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Okay, so would someone like to make a *useful* comment, with maybe a business name for the caller?

Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Kim, no one else reading this page can ''stop these people from calling'' on your behalf. These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Diane, was it a sales call? Was your number registered? Does the federal Do-Not-Call registry exist to help enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule? Come on, this isn't hard.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

There's no ''maybe'' about reporting. The FTC and attorneys general are your next stops.

You're hearing a fairly typical ''Foti message'', Fred, a clumsy way of honoring the FDCPA privacy mandate. You could be waiting a long time for your AG to do what would be much simpler for you to manage. My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

Anna, PRA doesn't care ''who is paying and who they are calling''. Those collection reps are all competing for commissions and bonus ''spiffs'', as their pit bosses hound them to meet some periodic performance goal. You need to stop negotiating on the phone where they want you and get on a paper trail where they don't.

You can dispute PRA's claim any time, but this is best done within 30 days of its first dunning letter. Over two years ago in this thread I discussed setting contact restrictions. Furthermore, anyone at your workplace can take away their permission to call for you there. Keep records of any action they've taken and anything said. You can turn evidence of FDCPA violations against them in a private lawsuit when you're ready.

Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Sarah, you'll have to talk to Progressive. The insurer does not manage this web page. I'd also report to the FCC and FTC about that call pattern. At a guess, you heard a fax transmission attempt and many automatic retries.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Hatter, the brief advice: Document all calls, send PRA a written ''cease communication'' notice via USPS Certified with return card, and sue for relief if your rights are denied.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Ms. Monroe: Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

DNC registration does matter to companies which care about compliance. Criminals with autodialers and spoofed numbers ... not so much. The sooner someone can report what the callers want and/or a business name the sooner a more useful response could be made.

Debra, what part of the website name ''Who Called Us'' did you not understand? Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Comments elsewhere indicate a political or survey call. What part of the rules you were supposed to read when you registered your numbers did you not understand?

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Yolanda: Mistrust of any ''wrong number'' claim is standard procedure at all the rogue collection agencies. They assume you are a liar until you give an answer which gets one paid. An ill-considered provision of the FDCPA is abused to permit this.

You will never get satisfaction from a verbal request, and number blocking turns into an arms race you will lose. Send a ''cease communication'' notice via USPS Certified with return card. This is the method promoted by the FTC and many consumer watchdogs, and the only way to set a legal landmine, as such a notice is ignored at their risk of a lawsuit from you.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Fred: My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

Upset: The federal Do-Not-Call registry exists to help enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Please note the operative term ''marketing''. A debt collector is not a sales person. Here are the DNC service terms you were supposed to review at registration time:

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Sure thing, as soon as I cast my magic spell which will reveal to me your phone number.

These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice. They are *NOT* private channels to your callers.

If you're going to crosspost from 800Notes, Ms. Mitchell, you might pay better attention. There were no ''you guys'' upon your arrival. It's a pity Claude and company probably don't have a U.S. office you could serve a summons.


Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

This commentor is ignoring what ''Fed Law'' actually says concerning survey and political calls, which is the purpose as reported elsewhere.

Here is the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Stop what? You ''will report'' what? Would you mind using this site as intended and actually describe the calls you got?

Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Numerous 800Notes comments indicate you've misreported the name Hogan & Weinberg, aka HW Capital. They appear to be another bunch of Buffalo Bullies who break collection laws as easily as they draw breath.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Dan: Commercial fundraisers are subject to the Telemarketing Sales Rule, which limits their outbound calls to a daily thirteen hour period, beginning at 08:00 in your time zone. ''It has to stop'' only when you make it stop. I've noted how to get that done two weeks ago, in a way which is permanent and does not have you hijacking your own phone line as the ''waste their time and yours'' gambit from Joe proposes.

further reading:
FTC: Charities and Fundraising Phone Fraud
ftc.gov

Ann, AT&T did not sell out your number to criminals with autodialers and cheap VOIP accounts. They don't need to. Your phone number is hardly a state secret. ''Government'' did not cut any deals either. The FTC has been filing federal lawsuits for years against high-traffic phone scam operators.

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

No one is ''legally required'' to do anything you demand on a mystery caller database. Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Gary, please .... Just give up the damned phone number. It's already programmed into the collection agency's autodialer. You're only confirming which number to strike, and presumably out of thousands of people per month called by that agency, only the holder of that number would know which one it is.

That said, I trust nothing to verbal orders when tangling with debt collectors. My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

Christine: Hostile debt collectors love to rattle your cage by calling workplaces, even when a personal or home number is already known. Per FDCPA, anyone at your PoE can revoke permission to call you there. Ultimately it's your job to limit or ban calls to all places, a goal best met via USPS Certified with return card.

This phone number is an obvious spoof, for an even better reason than Eric's suggestion. A true North American Central Office Code, a/k/a ''exchange'' (format NXX) assigned to a person or business should not lead with a zero or a one. Neither should the Numbering Plan Area Code.

area-codes.com
en.wikipedia.org
nanpa.com

Why are you assuming this web page is some private channel to your caller? Look around some and try again.

Wishing you ''luck as the situation unfolds'' is a common talk-off line from fake payday loan scammers in South Asia. Really it's extortion dressed as debt collection. The trouble does not come from merely ''selling our names''. They typically monetize and share all the sensitive data provided *by their victims* through loan applications.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs from Oct 2011 can be seen on the lead page.

See also this FTC alert:
Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

... or else what? You'll make another crabby remark here that the scammers will never read or obey?

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Sure, Jeff, the FTC carries on a hot side business selling DNC-registered phone numbers to all bidders. As we all know, a ten digit sequence cannot *possibly* be guessed by those newfangled difference engines or calculating machines or whatever they're called, and there is simply *no way* a few million phone numbers could be dialed sequentially and in a single day in a systematic geographic pattern by a determined gang of ne'er-do-wells who hide behind shell corporations and spoofed VOIP numbers. Why, it's unthinkable ...

Here's all the nothing your ''telemarketing distributor'' has been doing for three years to combat illegal nuisance calls. Hope you have a few hours to read it all.

Enforcement of the Do Not Call Registry (summary, links)
ftc.gov

Enforcement Action Announcements - Alphabetical
ftc.gov

Press Releases - Chronological
ftc.gov

Adams Sentenced To Over 17 Years In Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Telemarketing Fraud Scheme
justice.gov

Federal Trade Commission to Host Robocall Summit
ftc.gov

FTC Challenges Innovators to Do Battle with Robocallers
ftc.gov

Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

The marble-mouthed speech could be a byproduct of slack training and employee turnover. It might also be something which is taught and rehearsed, so that certain fearful trigger words are delivered. It's a method of implying a threat without strictly making one. The FDCPA is enforced by a ''least sophisticated consumer'' standard, so it's often possible to argue that an implied threat is as good as a clear one.

The other phrase I like: Give 'em shovels and they will dig their own graves. I'd agree you want a fat pile of violations before acting on them. It establishes a pattern of misconduct and cripples a ''bona fide error'' defense. Sounds like you got it under control, and your updates are certain to entertain.

Comments on other sites appearing since my prior comment point to Franklin Collection Services (FCSI). It is known for lawbreaking, but not of any ''no-call'' provision. The federal Do-Not-Call registry exists to help enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Please note the operative term ''marketing''. A debt collector is not a sales person. Here are the DNC service terms you were supposed to review at registration time:

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

HIPAA, and not ''HIPPA'', could be part of a dispute over medical debt only. The FDCPA has its own rules for protecting privacy, among many other rights. Reporting violations to the FTC and attorneys general is always good practice, but if you personally are harmed per state or federal collections law, don't sit waiting for a hero. Pile up your evidence and sue the buggers for relief!

Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Even as a stranger to an alleged debtor caught in a skip trace dragnet, you are entitled by federal and state law to polite and honest treatment, else you can hose the collection agency in court on their dime.

My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Stiver, your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

You could try next time to contribute what you know about a given caller, as others in this thread have done.

Would you mind actually describing the call before you go beefing about legal limitations?

Comments from other caller databases point to Van Ru Credit, a debt collection agency known for illegal tactics.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Ms. Boris, your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

This sounds like debt collection, or perhaps we should say extortion dressed as collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs from Oct 2011 can be seen on the lead page.

See also this FTC alert:
Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

You are personally a phone number, Mary? That's some keen trick. If you meant you have a number registered with federal DNC, why exactly should surveyors ''not be calling'' you?

Here is the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32. The facts spelled out there have been discussed repeatedly in this thread.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Sure thing, Ms. Lopez, as soon as I cast my magic spell which will reveal to me your phone number.

These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice. They are *NOT* private channels to your callers.

A loan officer or a law officer? Claiming to be the latter is very illegal and typical of the fake payday loan collector. This is extortion dressed as debt collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs from Oct 2011 can be seen on the lead page.

See also this FTC alert:
Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

No one else reading this page can ''make it stop'' on your behalf. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments.

These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice. They are *NOT* direct or private channels to the phone bank boiler rooms we comment upon. If you can provide a business name and/or details on the caller's stated purpose, you might get a more helpful response.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

WCA is the acronym for Worldwide Commerce Associates. If you are getting their calls, there is a very good chance that YOU INVITED them, even if unwittingly. More is explained in the next link.

(6093189538) whocalled.us

Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

FTC advice on junk callers with autodialers
ftc.gov

Sandip, your theory of long distance phone fees is plausible but not really the point of these extortion calls. Your caution was justified, as these criminals will seize upon a phone number with ''a live one'' and never, ever stop calling with their ridiculous threats.

By definition there cannot be ''criminal charges ... in a matter of civil fraud''. Debt disputes in North America are strict civil problems, and that includes payday loans. These thugs all want you to think that a loan default carries the same weight as writing a ''hot check'' and going to jail, and that paying them arbitrary amounts via untraceable methods will somehow make the phantom debt go away.

Jen, could you be bothered to read the first sentence of my comment right behind yours? AGAIN .... Debt collectors do not bother with the DNC registry because THEY ARE EXEMPT as non-sales callers!

I would suggest that you quit trying to negotiate verbally and slap on a written cease-comm, as I have discussed here long ago and detailed in this other thread:

(8773052082) whocalled.us

Trying to collect what has already been paid misrepresents the amount and/or character of the debt in dispute. This gives you a FDCPA cause of action which you should be happy to exercise if PRA ignores your Cert-Mailed ''shut up''. If you're sued long past your Statute of Limitations you can spank 'em even harder. You have leverage! Use it when the time is ripe.

Linda .... I should have recognized your writing style. What I think is that the worms have already escaped, the moment the collector started yanking your chain. From my reading of comments elsewhere, the ''block/ignore'' approach may be both inadequate and a loss of opportunity. I'm much more .. errrm, activist in my approach to nuisance callers than you, but hear this out.

FFR appears to be headquartered in Florida (non-shocker there) and have a current corporate filing there. This gives you something tangible unlike their South Asian fraudulent collector kin. The verbal threats you've heard almost certainly violate FDCPA and similar state laws. They are not aimed at you but at the alleged debtor, which limits FFR's liability to you. HOW-ever, you do have a cause of action for any abusive or harassing treatment you might receive. For the right damage award you can feel sufficiently frightened and abused, yes?

The only good reason for engaging with such thugs on the phone is to confirm the call source and gather evidence of lawbreaking. By far the most likely source of FDCPA violations will be in a verbal exchange. Let 'em rage at you all they like. You know you have the high ground and no fear of placing your assets at risk. Record the calls, save message copies, take richly detailed notes. When you're done toying with them, send the total cease-comm notice as I discuss in this other thread and see if the fools disobey:

My advice for a ''not me'' case, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

If you got 'em where you want them, send their worms back with a draft of your civil complaint and a cover letter ''inviting'' them to solve your problem for $x,xxx or you'll solve it yourself as Plaintiff.

Yes, I'm sure you would. Complaining here on a caller database is not getting the job done.

American Heart: Please know that your annual spamming of these caller databases with your same tired softsoaping STILL does nothing to endear me to your profit-driven ''cause''. Your hired commercial fundraiser remains locked under my written gag order from almost a year ago. That firm is aware I will ''reach out'' with a summons and complaint if our phones catch even one more ring on your behalf.

Details for the curious:
(9018819984) whocalled.us

WCA is the acronym for Worldwide Commerce Associates. If you are getting their calls, there is a very good chance that YOU INVITED them, even if unwittingly. More is explained in the next link.

(6093189538) whocalled.us

Ms. Bryant, your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should or should not be called based on anonymous comments. Don't be too surprised if the ''job offer'' is cover for a scammer's ruse.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Try describing ''them'' if you want a useful response.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Nice job, Robin. You utterly ignore my caution to Tonia AND copy her inane demand verbatim, apart from the number of exclamation points laid out like fence pickets.

Comments on other sites, where people actually pay attention to the purpose of sites they post on, point to telemarketer WCA. WCA is the acronym for Worldwide Commerce Associates. If you are getting their calls, there is a very good chance that YOU INVITED them, even if unwittingly. More is explained in the next link.

(6093189538) whocalled.us

This of course also means that yet again Lexington Law has targeted entirely the wrong kind of nuisance caller in its mass spam dump in that same day.

Karen, it seems you've been thorough in lodging complaints and raising disputes. Next stop is the courthouse. You have a mint green Cert Mail card proving that CBE was given due notice of your cease-comm. I would argue that calls made after that letter was received constitute harassment per FDCPA. I would also try for TCPA claims since a mobile phone is being targeted and your privacy is under threat.

FTC: Avoid Charity Fraud
ftc.gov

quote: Simply having the words ''police'', ''firefighter'' or ''veteran'' in an organization's name doesn't mean that these groups will benefit from the money raised.

Donating to Public Safety Fundraisers
business.ftc.gov

quote: Most police and fire departments are funded by your tax dollars. However, they may ask you to contribute to their professional associations or labor unions at local, state, or national levels. These groups typically use paid fundraisers to solicit donations. Be cautious: simply having the words ''police'' or ''firefighter'' in an organization’s name doesn’t mean police or firefighters are members of the group — or benefit from it. Call your local police or fire department to verify any fundraiser’s claims.

MJ, a nuisance call center with an autodialer cannot ''get the hint'' which you have not given. Two months ago in this thread I discussed how to give an order, not a hint, for a commercial fundraiser to quit calling. I'm at almost a year since my last beggar call from one boiler room, while you will be back here again one day making the same complaint.

Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. It is unwise to publish a phone number you meant to protect in an open forum where any data harvester and scammer can find it. Do your homework the next time you need money and don't go near those stupid South Asian scammers.

Advance-Fee Loan Scams: ‘Easy’ Cash Offers Teach Hard Lessons
ftc.gov

Would you mind trying to identify ''them'' or describe what the caller wants?

Nora, you could start by reading about the payday loan thugs and your rights as I suggested right before your comment. You can mitigate the abuse but there is not much ''fixing'' to do since you've already let the horse bolt by applying for a PDL. Your application data have by now been sold and passed through many criminal hands.

How nice for you, Ms. Rehman, and irrelevant. See my comment from two months ago.

So what? ''08:30 AM even on Sundays'' is a legal time for collectors to call, unless your state law or your written notice to the collection agency says different. If you'd learned about relevant federal laws like I discussed here almost two years ago, you would know this. Here's another look ....

ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

DJ: Mistrust of any ''wrong number / wrong name'' claim is standard procedure at all the rogue collection agencies. You will never get satisfaction from a verbal request, and number blocking turns into an arms race you will lose. As I advised here in March 2011, send a ''cease communication'' notice via USPS Certified with return card. This is the method promoted by the FTC and many consumer watchdogs, and the only way to set a legal landmine, as such a notice is ignored at their risk of a lawsuit from you.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller. In stubborn cases it may take a notice sent via USPS Certified with return card.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Grace and Carlis: Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. It is unwise to publish a phone number you meant to protect in an open forum where any data harvester and scammer can find it.

As two others have tried to tell everyone here this year, these particular callers are criminal scammers. They have no authority to extend any warranty, and they know nothing about your vehicles, or lack of them. The fake warranty scam is well established and has been around for years.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Our SEO spamming is based on the belief that the needs of caller database website users are of no importance. Our entire team of Eastern European hacker punks is committed to selling the worst possible form of advertising.

Scammers with autodialers and spoofed VOIP accounts have all of our numbers on what I would term the ''Do Not Care'' list. Your federal DNC registration is not a magical shield against every nuisance caller, and you were never promised one.

Here is all the ''nothing'' which has been done to clean out Telemarketing Sales Rule violators. Hope you have a few hours to read it all.

Enforcement of the Do Not Call Registry (summary, links)
ftc.gov

Enforcement Action Announcements - Alphabetical
ftc.gov

Press Releases - Chronological
ftc.gov

Adams Sentenced To Over 17 Years In Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Telemarketing Fraud Scheme
justice.gov

Federal Trade Commission to Host Robocall Summit
ftc.gov

FTC Challenges Innovators to Do Battle with Robocallers
ftc.gov

How do you know it's truly a police charity drive?

FTC: Avoid Charity Fraud
ftc.gov

Donating to Public Safety Fundraisers
business.ftc.gov

Here is the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Choldren, the FTC thought you would read the rules you were agreeing to when adding numbers to the DNC registry. You were invited to do so but ignored them, like millions of other Americans on ''Team Not My Problem''. Here they are again. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

''Relentless'' is one of many adjectives I've used regarding the March of Dimes campaigns. Most are not so polite.

You are likely to find the calls are placed by a commercial fundraiser, such as Associated Community Services, Dial America, Donor Services Group, Harris, InfoCision, MDS, and TeleFund. As commercial entities, these hired call centers are expected to honor an internal no-call list and add any number upon request. Break that order, the FTC declares, and ''the telemarketer may be subject to a fine of up to $16,000.'' They are also covered to a point by other regulations for telepests, so you can kvetch about abandoned calls, bot calls to mobile phones, and so on.

In a comment from Jan 2012 linked below, find the simple steps I took to rid myself of a major pain boiler room by politely rubbing its face in federal laws. MoD has been a longtime client of this particular telemarketer. You will note that I never rely on verbal cease-communication demands.

(9018819984) whocalled.us

The triple-B isn't working so well as you think, Fed Up. The object is to stop misdirected calls permanently, not pause them every few months. BBB has no real authority and is barely legitimate itself thanks to its payola-for-ratings tendencies.

It's best to directly offload your problem and make it the collection agency's to solve. My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found below, in a comment from 29 August 2012. If EOS won't cure the problem despite your paper trail, resolve it yourself as ''Plaintiff''.
(8773052082) whocalled.us

Don't overlook the FTC and attorneys general as complaint desks. They can't fight your battles but they can escalate the war if enough people report to them.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

John, you've had a whole year to answer your own questions and they are not that hard.

Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

You are not obligated to assist any debt collector in a manhunt .... which is really a hunt for assets. If you still feel litigious once you've reviewed federal and state collection laws, it should be stressed that you can only sue for actual violations, not your bruised feelings.

Your first duty is to try to obtain relief without a judge. My advice for a ''not me'' case like yourself can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

800Notes has a short and recently active thread for that return number, pointing to a ''Buffalo Bully'' known as Everest Receivable Services. Document all calls and Caller ID carefully and record clean phone audio if possible. If your written cease-comm is disobeyed, spank 'em with that and whatever else you have for violation counts.

At a guess, this is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:
(2846436572) whocalled.us

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

Some relief came the first week in October 2012 as the FTC spanked whole gangs of these creeps with huge damage awards.

FTC Halts Massive Tech Support Scams
ftc.gov

Ms. Walner, your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them DIRECTLY to your caller. It is unwise to publish a phone number you meant to protect in an open forum where any data harvester and scammer can find it.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

It's about time someone offered a business name here: First National Collections Bureau

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Tired: Your lawyer may have difficulty prosecuting if you can't prove your ''shut up'' was received. To a ''not me'' case I always recommend putting the agency on notice, just as you would if you were the target and the debt claim was invalid. Send a ''cease-communication'' notice via USPS Certified with return card. This is the method promoted by the FTC and many consumer watchdogs, and the best way to set a legal landmine, as such a notice is ignored at their risk of a lawsuit from you. You may already be due some payback if you can prove you've endured abusive or misleading treatment in an effort to collect debt.

The actual business name is Enhanced Recovery Corporation. While I enjoy being ''totally correct'', what I've mostly done is aided self-empowerment, like this ....

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

You realize, I hope, that your ''no call'' demands need to be delivered directly to the debt collector. Vent your stories and financial problems somewhere else. None of what you've spilled in your confessional is a defense for breaking a lender contract. That's how the collectors see it and that is how the courts will see it if you are one day sued for recovery.

If you want to defend yourself the smart way, learn the state and federal laws which govern how AFNI should do its job, and use them to control the phone calls and sue if your rights are denied.

ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

You might start with a USPS Certified notice of dispute which mentions the type of phones being called. It is illegal for collectors to incur cost when making contact.

Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

This sounds like debt collection, or perhaps we should say extortion dressed as collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs from Oct 2011 can be seen on the lead page.

See also this FTC alert:
Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

WCA is the acronym for Worldwide Commerce Associates. If you are getting their calls, there is a very good chance that YOU INVITED them, even if unwittingly. More is explained in the next link.

(6093189538) whocalled.us

ssiighh .... Chambers, READ .. BEFORE .. YOU .. POST!

Who are ''they'', please? What exactly are you told? With details, others may be able to help.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

There's no subpoena and no ''litigation'', unless of course you'd like to spank this Calhoun gang for FDCPA violations. It's not clear if this extortionist shop has a U.S. presence.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Monica: 800Notes comments point to Check and Credit Reporting / CCR & Associates in Fresno. This is an extortion shop in the guise of a debt collector chasing bogus ''hot check'' claims. They will almost certainly violate state and federal laws while trying to drain your assets. Document and record everything you are told, volunteer NO information, and certainly do not promise to pay.

You found out the hard way from your previous experience that no debt collector is to be trusted on face value. Never ask ''How do I pay?'' Always demand, ''Prove I owe!''

Here's an alert from a Washington state regulator:
dfi.wa.gov

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:
(2846436572) whocalled.us

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

Some relief came the first week in October 2012 as the FTC spanked whole gangs of these creeps with huge damage awards.

FTC Halts Massive Tech Support Scams
ftc.gov

Let me guess, your ''asking them not to call'' was done verbally? USPS Certified with return card is your new best friend in this matter.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

The corresponding 800Notes thread points to Nuance Software. Several Nuance threads have been active on both sites for many months.

No one else reading this page can ''please stop them from calling'' on your behalf. These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice.

This sounds like debt collection, or perhaps we should say extortion dressed as collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs from Oct 2011 can be seen on the lead page.

See also this FTC alert:
Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Tell them yourself to ''sop calling''. [sic]
It's not my job and not the job of any other reader to police your phone traffic. Your phone number is besides not magically revealed when you comment here.

FORM: Canned male voices, clips of different men and different quality of recording stitched together. Recordings trimmed of all natural pauses and sped up slightly like a bad radio advert. Way at the end another clip says to "unsubscribe press 'nine'" almost too quickly for comprehension. Another clip adds, this one with a different rushed voice and no low end, "or call 855-628-0670", the same number appearing on caller ID.

CONTENT: Furious anti-Obama diatribe urging response to an "emergency petition" via keypress, also described hurriedly as a "national pro-Romney petition". Protests "radical Islamic extremists" and tax dollars spent "to fund these Muslim brotherhood-led attacks on *OUR* nation", demands that Congress or the President or whoever "cease and desist all funding to Egypt or Syria".

"OR Syria"? Can't they make up their minds who's at fault and who should act? Doesn't sound like much of a petition.

Since, as usual for these crap calls, the recording began during our machine greeting, we have an incomplete message and no identification of the call source. This call is legal but abuses both First Amendment rights and the DNC registry exemption. It is offensive to any voter who prefers to make a calm and informed decision in two weeks. This call demonstrates the disdain for the electorate which has come from a certain portion of a certain party well before a future President electrified a crowd in Grant Park. My elderly father did not ask to be barked at with emotional fearmongering as though somehow he shares guilt for national "attacks" if he fails to respond to some mass-dialed audible pollutant.

800Notes comments indicate another fake payday loan collector in South Asia. This is extortion dressed as collection.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs from Oct 2011 can be seen on the lead page.

See also this FTC alert:
Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

No one else reading this page can ''have this person quit'' anything on your behalf. These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice. They are *NOT* direct or private channels to the phone bank boiler rooms we comment upon. You must handle your own problems. If you can provide a business name and/or details on the caller's stated purpose, you might get a more helpful response.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:
(2846436572) whocalled.us

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

Some relief came the first week in October 2012 as the FTC spanked whole gangs of these creeps with huge damage awards.

FTC Halts Massive Tech Support Scams
ftc.gov

Bill, here's all the ''nothing'' which has been done to clean out Telemarketing Sales Rule violators:

Enforcement of the Do Not Call Registry (summary, links)
ftc.gov

Enforcement Action Announcements - Alphabetical
ftc.gov

Press Releases - Chronological
ftc.gov

The vast majority of junk callers are criminals with autodialers who would NEVER CARE about your ''DNC listed'' tantrums. The FTC just completed an all-day summit yesterday, announced all the way back in July, to work smarter and harder on the problem.

Federal Trade Commission to Host Robocall Summit Tomorrow
ftc.gov

FTC Challenges Innovators to Do Battle with Robocallers
ftc.gov

If all you do is stamp your feet and wait for ''da gubment'' to solve your personal problems, YOU ARE NOT HELPING ''to stop these unwanted calls''. Report and report again to the FTC and attorneys general. Find the state regulators of the various telco services involved and report to them. Find the call sources yourself, if you can, and bring private TCPA suits. Laws do not work in a vacuum. DO SOMETHING ALREADY!

Joyce, a Certified Mailed notice at under six dollars is an investment in defending your rights, not a penalty on the poor. If you have a FDCPA cause of action and a good case you'll make back those few dollars many times over, all expenses paid by the loser agency. You want to see ''their pants sued off''? YOU have to take action, not wait for someone else to vaguely ''stop all the scams''.

Ann, you might want to read those laws I referenced a couple weeks ago, then warm up a civil complaint for ''super early'' and ''really late'' calls featuring that abusive harpie. If you have paid whatever account, why are you offering to repay? If you really want to spank 'em, your story has to be straight while the collector's is erratic.

This sounds like debt collection, or perhaps we should say extortion dressed as collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs from Oct 2011 can be seen on the lead page.

See also this FTC alert:
Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

A scammer gives an ''opt-out'' provision only for the illusion of legitimacy. Just as when one replies in any way to email spam, the first thing any response tells the phone scammer is that yours is a functional phone number which a live person just might respond to again. That is how your phone numbers become commodities, shared with and sold off to other criminals.

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

Strange report, Ronnie. ''Officer Celebrity Name Here'' from ''Not Really the Goverment'' is associated with fake payday loan collectors in South Asia. PRA stoops pretty low, but they have too many marginally legitimate debts to chase to bother with fake accounts. I would suggest you've misreported the caller's number. On a long shot, a fakie has ''borrowed'' a real collector's number, but in that case the poser is usually trying to pass as a law firm and not a junk debt buyer. Do report here again if a pattern emerges. Keep watch and stay safe.

I would think an engineer at your ISP would by now have heard of the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:
(2846436572) whocalled.us

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

Some relief came the first week in October 2012 as the FTC spanked whole gangs of these creeps with huge damage awards.

FTC Halts Massive Tech Support Scams
ftc.gov

BQ, your complaints are going nowhere because the FCC has next to no jurisdiction. It's the Federal Trade Commission you want, and attorneys general. Don't expect them to solve your personal problem, which is actually a simple DIY project. My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

The advice to only pay original creditors comes from those who have never tried it. The OC typically enters a contract which prevents circumvention of its hired collectors. When you attempt to ''direct pay'', one of two things will happen. Either the OC marches you straight to its collection agency or it will feign acceptance and then quietly pay the collector its due commission anyway.

That refers of course to assigned debt. Once your account is sold to a debt buyer, the OC is long gone. The new owner will have the same agreement with its hired agencies. By then you would be handing pure profit to some firm that can't prove you ever owed. You have no hope of starving out a third party collector until you begin to Dispute and Document. Never ask ''How do I pay'', always demand ''Prove I owe!''

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue violators at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

First you have to find the scammers to take a swing. They've made that plenty difficult. The strategy promoted on that WordPress blog is quite sound, essentially the same as targeting upstream providers of email spammers. More prison sentences would be nice, too, following the precedent set in a case against a scam gang in Atlanta.

Jury Convicts Woman In $25 Million Nationwide Telemarketing Fraud Scheme
justice.gov

Adams Sentenced To Over 17 Years In Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Telemarketing Fraud Scheme
justice.gov

My advice for a ''not me'' case taking collection calls can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

You can ''attest'' what you like, but commercial fundraisers tend to exhibit suspect behavior and profit quite well from so-called ''nonprofit'' groups which themselves are frequently closet profit enterprises.

Violation of what? (DNC FAQ) Here is the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Prepare for another half year of debt collection calls unless you take action, Ripper. My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

RR: Comments elsewhere on 800Notes continue to confirm this is debt collection agency Pentagroup Financial, and not ''Sallie Mae'' or any other original creditor. THEY are the liars here. That and the rapid call pattern and the various abusive remarks from that rep give you a solid cause of action to sue PF for FDCPA violations and possibly breaking your state law.


Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Many are simple to exercise if you only learn how. You are granted control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue lawbreakers at low cost. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

The scamming thugs are getting desperate .... What was that two grand supposed to buy, Sandra? Avoiding a fake lawsuit over a fake payday loan?

Here is the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

FTC advice on junk callers with autodialers
ftc.gov

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

Or else what, Nikki? You'll make another cranky post here? You and Sue and Francie and Theo need first to READ .. BEFORE .. YOU .. POST! The following facts have been stated in this thread before:

- Your callers do not read, manage, or control this web page.
- Even if the creeps suddenly wanted to quit calling you, nothing about this site magically reveals which phone numbers they are to avoid.
- The credit reprice offers come from criminals who hide behind shell corporations, telco service resellers, and spoofed numbers to evade prosecution.
- Jumping and whining about your ''Do Not Call'' registrations is futile. Every functioning telephone number is now on a virtual ''Do Not Care'' list!

If you want action, file complaints with the FTC, attorneys general, and the service providers the scammers use. No, you won't get fast personal service. You will add to a swell of reports which will burst in the scammers' faces once they are cornered like those in the past three years. If you want to throw tantrums but add nothing useful to our collective intelligence, pour it in your own notebook and stop littering these database sites.

I'm so happy for you. Would someone actually like to describe a phone call now?

Jeeee-zus Cripes, Greg, if your own mother called you from an unfamiliar number you'd stamp that ''reported as a DNCL violation'', too.

The federal Do-Not-Call registry exists to help enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Please note the operative term ''marketing''. A debt collector is not a sales person. Here are the DNC service terms you were supposed to review at registration time:

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

If you want to hunt for violations so badly, try applying the laws which are relevant here ....
Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

... and your computer was reported to be spewing malware like a broken sewer pipe? That would mean the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:
(2846436572) whocalled.us

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

Some relief came the first week in October 2012 as the FTC spanked whole gangs of these creeps with huge damage awards.

FTC Halts Massive Tech Support Scams
ftc.gov

See response (8887361286) whocalled.us

You may have misheard FFR Associates, aka Financial Filing & Reporting. They sound like extortionist thugs with the usual total lack of claim.

Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

FTC alert: Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

Watching calls go ''splat'' against a call blocker is all fun and games until you get blindsided by a creditor lawsuit. Then you'll wish you'd done a better job of gathering evidence of phone violations from a collection agency so prone to causing them.

More official-type material on US federal collection law:
consumerfinance.gov

Thanks so much for that detailed comment telling us all about what we are supposed to ''please report'' ....

Steve: There is nothing to ''fix'' about the DNC registry. Criminals with autodialers and spoofed numbers violate the Telemarketing Sales Rule daily; legitimate businesses obey it.

Here's all you can eat regarding enforcement against illegal nuisance callers in the recent past. Hope you have a few free hours to read it all.

Enforcement of the Do Not Call Registry (summary, links)
ftc.gov

Enforcement Action Announcements - Alphabetical
ftc.gov

Press Releases - Chronological
ftc.gov

The other major caller databases have a variety of comments but no clear answers, apart from agreeing on the sheer rudeness of the callers. Some suggest illegal sales calls, others hint at fake payday loan collection. It's a fair guess the boiler room may not be in Florida or even the States. If we have so little to go on, imagine what the local police might say, who won't be interested in a civil matter anyway.

FTC advice on junk callers with autodialers
ftc.gov

WCA is the acronym for Worldwide Commerce Associates. If you are getting their calls, there is a very good chance that YOU INVITED them, even if unwittingly. More is explained in the next link.

(6093189538) whocalled.us

Some 800Notes comments jive with Winslow. NOW we got us a lawbreaker per the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and TCPA causes of action. Meaning, if you can find the call source you can serve it a summons.

Telemarketing Sales Rule
business.ftc.gov

Telephone Consumer Protection Act
the-dma.org
fcc.gov [PDF]

This sounds like debt collection, or perhaps we should say extortion dressed as collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs from Oct 2011 can be seen on the lead page.

See also this FTC alert:
Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Sick: Do you plan to tell NRA that or just keep making remarks here?

Buster: I would suggest turning up the volume on Certified Mail paper when any highly profitable ''nonprofit'' is so deaf to verbal demands, and most of them are.

Surveyors are not held by federal law to the thirteen hour daily calling window, beginning at 08:00 daily in your time zone, imposed on sales and debt collection calls. Only your state law might say any different to overcome this. The more polite survey firms choose to observe similar hours, but are not out of bounds until:

- they call against your express orders to quit.
- the "survey" is a cheap ruse to disguise a sales call.

This is likely extortion dressed as debt collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs from Oct 2011 can be seen on the lead page.

See also this FTC alert:
Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Who in God's name do you think you're writing to?

Ms. Ankeny and others need to tell the actual caller, not make demands on a website the caller does not control.
Thank you.

see also (2156222316) whocalled.us

Ms. Ankeny needs to tell the actual caller, not make demands on a website the caller does not control.
Thank you.

see also (2083763376) whocalled.us

"Nationwide" what? At least six US collection agencies use that word in their business names.

Let me guess, your ''arrangements'' were made verbally and you never disputed the debt. You have options if you learn your rights.

Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

No one's phone number is a state secret, and you might as well have placed it on an animated billboard in Times Square if you were going to release it to those security leak .... er, I mean social media sites.

That said, it's not a given that some stranger decided to use your number as a decoy. Faulty skip tracing is arguably the most common complaint debt collectors attract, and it's usually the agency's own doing. Your current number could be someone else's former number. It could be one digit away from the one which reaches the actual target. You could be a neighbor of the alleged debtor. You might be getting hassled to shame and annoy some other poor sod, which by the way is an illegal tactic.

Those are all common scenarios, and you might find that just saying ''not me'' is unacceptable to a junk debt collector. My advice for such a case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

} What purpose does the Do Not Call list serve?

The federal Do-Not-Call registry exists to help enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule. This was never a secret. Here's the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Legitimate sales callers tend to obey the rules. Please don't expect criminals with autodialers and spoofed numbers to respect the same rules. A scammer gives an ''opt-out'' provision only for the illusion of legitimacy. Just as when one replies in any way to email spam, the first thing any response tells the phone scammer is that yours is a functional phone number which a live person just might respond to again. That is how your phone numbers become commodities, shared with and sold off to other criminals.

This sounds like debt collection, or perhaps we should say extortion dressed as collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs, updated Oct 2011, can be seen on the lead page.

FTC alert: Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

How nice for you. Now will someone describe what the caller wants?

What, you think your ''prepay cell phone'' number is some state secret? Criminals with autodialers do not need to ''find'', ''get'', or ''have'' your phone number any more than you need to own the numeral '7' before throwing dice to win at a gambling table.

800Notes comments asy it's a credit reprice scammer, a girlfriend of ''Rachel'' or ''Heather''. Would someone here like to confirm?

FTC advice on junk callers with autodialers
ftc.gov

This is extortion dressed as debt collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs, updated Oct 2011, can be seen on the lead page.

FTC alert: Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

This is extortion dressed as debt collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs, updated Oct 2011, can be seen on the lead page.

FTC alert: Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Jean, did you read the DNC terms when you registered? Did you read them this week as I'd suggested? The answer is ''no'', since like so many others complaining to this site you are stamping your feet regarding the scope of the DNC registry. Here AGAIN are the facts ....

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

The federal Do-Not-Call registry exists to help enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Please note the operative term ''marketing''. If a charity caller does not try to sell you anything, and you have not removed permission to call you, THE PHONE CALL IS LEGAL. Don't like it? Hate me for saying it? Too damned bad. Those are the laws and none of them are a secret.

I have pointed everyone to official-type material on those laws and practical advice for halting commercial fundraisers. I have also mentioned that call abandonment makes for a valid complaint. Unlike you, I did so without calling anyone rude names. That is neither disgusting (spelling corrected) nor shameful. What disgusts me is the fraud committed by highly profitable ''charities'' and their hired call centers which misuse their TSR exemption. What is shameful is when people remain willfully ignorant about their rights and options in working against such entities.

WCA is the acronym for Worldwide Commerce Associates. If you are getting their calls, there is a very good chance that YOU INVITED them, even if unwittingly. More is explained in the next link.

(6093189538) whocalled.us

Mark, Debbie, and others who will follow: The federal Do-Not-Call registry exists to help enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Please note the operative term ''marketing''. A political survey is not considered a sales call. Here are the DNC service terms you were supposed to review at registration time:

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Don't like it? Strap in for more of the same all the way through early November. Until you tell your caller to stop, you don't have a valid complaint.

This is extortion dressed as debt collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs, updated Oct 2011, can be seen on the lead page.

FTC alert: Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Carol:

1. This problem is mostly in the FTC's backyard.
2. The Commissions ARE doing something if you bother to find out.
3. You cannot expect regulators to drop everything and cure your personal problem.
4. None of the above has ever been a secret.

Here's the word on the last few FTC lawsuits against credit reprice scammers, and a gang in Atlanta facing prison time:

FTC Action Puts Robocallers Out of the Telemarketing Business
ftc.gov

FTC Shuts Down Robocallers Who Claimed to Reduce Credit Card Interest Rates
ftc.gov

FTC Charges Telemarketers with Illegal Robocalling
ftc.gov

Adams Sentenced To Over 17 Years In Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Telemarketing Fraud Scheme
justice.gov

Law enforcement is not enough, as cheap VOIP service and Caller ID spoofing were not available as tools of concealment to phone scammers when the DNC program was established. The FTC is well aware of this, and will be inviting ideas for a technological defense to be aired at summit next week, which was announced in July.

Agency Announces Robocall Summit to be Held October 18 in Washington, DC
ftc.gov

Those of you who come to these complaint sites by the dozen and throw tantrums about how ''duh gubment'' has failed you have obviously never endured legal process. The simplest movement can take weeks, and satisfaction can be months if not years away. Keep doing your part and report to the FTC and attorneys general and others with authority, and try to show some patience.

Rick, your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. Scammers with autodialers don't care about your rights and will keep on calling.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

FTC advice on junk callers with autodialers
ftc.gov

Max, Guy, et al: Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Please stop assuming this web page is a private channel to your nuisance caller. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Every NRA thread turns into a split vote .... ''It's the gun lobby!'' ... ''It's the collection agency!'' ... ''It's a floor polish AND a dessert topping!''

Imagine that you ran a devious debt collection shop, you didn't care what state and federal laws said, you wanted to fool people into answering your phone calls, and your company acronym just happened to match that of a different non-sales organization. Would you not think it a clever move to simply spoof the *real numbers* of that other organization? This of course would violate §807(10) of the FDCPA.

ftc.gov

NDNCR member: The credit reprice scam is bigger than all of us. This year I've been referring to the work of intrepid bloggers who have done a lot of sleuthing to find the heads of the hydra. One kingpin has been named, but it's not clear he's the guy to serve a summons. Until we can hold the correct criminals by the throat with TCPA claims, we have to be content with spreading complaints to the FTC and attorneys general.

That WordPress blog I cited in late September also suggests reporting to the utility regulators in those Northwestern states where phone numbers controlled by the scammers are found. Based on complaint volume it's believed that a full quarter of the current illegal call traffic is the work of one company, Pacific Telecom. In August the PacTel public utility registration was yanked in Oregon, and North Dakota is poised to do the same this month. This is very similar to the email spam combat technique of sending complaints to an ''upstream provider'', in hopes of taking away the scammer's primary tools.

On WCU I've written about Paetec (or whatever it wants to call itself) in the past in connection with both illegal security system sales calls and a lengthy spam campaign run on this very site. It would hardly surprise me if Paetec is also pretty much a ''spam harbor''.

(4015580022) whocalled.us
(8604700041) whocalled.us

Just to be clear on this point: It should be plain by now that verbal demands and keypresses are not going to stop criminals with autodialers. Those false ''opt-out'' provisions are only there to create an illusion of legitimacy. Again in parallel to the email spam problem, the first thing any direct response tells the phone scammer is that yours is a functional phone number which a live person just might respond to again. That is how your phone numbers become commodities, shared with and sold off to other criminals.

Errrm, mobile phones are not immune to sales or survey calls, there are simply more legal protections for those devices due to their bass-ackwards ''receiver pays'' arrangements.

The credit reprice scam calls are illegal simply for being canned and autodialed sales calls, even before failing to meet any of the four DNC exemptions.

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

There is no ''DNC organization''. It is a registry, no more able to actively stop junk calls than your grocery list can walk around the market and buy your groceries. It's kind of hard for the FTC to sue a telemarketer which has done nothing wrong. Periodical sales callers are likely to operate from an Established Business Relationship, which grants leave to call current and former subscribers. EBR does not apply as of Februrary this year if the call is prerecorded. Canned calls need express consent. You can bet that newer agreements with publishers will provide that consent.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Telemarketing Sales Rule
business.ftc.gov

Drop your registration and wait a few weeks. Then you'll catch the point, and remember what life with your phone was like circa 2001 when you had to chase down every sales caller and deny call permission.

Cheap VOIP service and Caller ID spoofing were not available as tools of concealment to phone scammers when the DNC program was established. The FTC is well aware of this, and will be inviting ideas for a technological defense to be aired at the Autumn summit a week from today.

Agency Announces Robocall Summit to be Held October 18 in Washington, DC
ftc.gov

Uh-huh ..... If you have an Established Business Relationship with Sears your DNC registration won't matter.

Telemarketing Sales Rule
business.ftc.gov

Then you might have to turn up your volume on paper. Send a ''cease communication'' notice via USPS Certified with return card. This is the method promoted by the FTC and many consumer watchdogs, who will explain how you can do some damage if that notice is ignored.

A valid North American exchange does not lead with a zero or one. Right away you're likely dealing with scammers who only pretend to have an ''opt-out'' provision for the illusion of legitimacy. Just as when one replies in any way to email spam, the first thing any response tells the phone scammer is that yours is a functional phone number which a live person just might respond to again. That is how your phone numbers become commodities, shared with and sold off to other criminals.

Please describe what the callers want and maybe a more helpful response will come along.

''It is very obvious that the National Do Not Call Registry does not work!''

No, CFW, what's very obvious is that the public education system you supposedly graduated from has failed you, specifically in English reading comprehension and critical reasoning. Here's the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Fine and dandy. Can we please stop crabbing about no-call lists and finally describe the calls now that this thread is nearly a year old?

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Hipson, you are likely to find the calls are placed by a commercial fundraiser, such as Associated Community Services, Dial America, Donor Services Group, Harris, InfoCision, MDS, and TeleFund. As commercial entities, these hired call centers are expected to honor an internal no-call list and add any number upon request. Break that order, the FTC declares, and ''the telemarketer may be subject to a fine of up to $16,000.'' They are also covered to a point by other regulations for telepests, so you can kvetch about abandoned calls, bot calls to mobile phones, and so on.

In a comment from Jan 2012 linked below, find the simple steps I took to rid myself of a major pain boiler room by politely rubbing its face in federal laws. You will note that I never rely on verbal cease-communication demands.
(9018819984) whocalled.us

Holdren, no one in ''the government'' or the courts will consider charity calls ''harassment'' until you personally take away the right to ring your phones.

Sharer, your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

Your local police will take no interest in a civil matter with a firm which has the same legal right to call you as any other surveyor. How do you intend to prove *harassment* when you can't even spell it, much less the word ''before''?

Here's the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Fever, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

If you are receiving repeated, misdirected, and/or abusive calls from a third party debt collector, you may find relief in the provisions of the FDCPA, the federal law which regulates collector behavior and provides you simple tools for your own defense. It grants you control of how you are contacted, the right to dispute debt claims, and the means to sue at low cost.

Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Reports to the FTC and attorneys general would be helpful. Beefing and moaning here where your callers are not reading is not helping. It is unwise, Mr. Richmond, to publish a phone number you meant to protect in an open forum where any data harvester and scammer can find it.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Raoul, there's a big difference between a ''worthless'' regulator and one whith stretched resources. The FTC has more on its plate than creepy junk callers, but is meeting to address the problem in just over a week.

Agency Announces Robocall Summit to be Held October 18 in Washington, DC
ftc.gov

Jack, we've had trashy illegal callers regardless of which party rules Congress and the White House. The fraud and theft which results is a widespread problem, but until they cause mass death they will always take a backseat to fights over oil company subsidies, undeclared wars, and forcing school children to be taught that Jesus Christ owned a pet dinosaur.

That's nice, but the credit reprice scam calls are illegal whether or not you have DNC-registered numbers. Verbal demands and keypresses are not going to stop criminals with autodialers in any case. Those false ''opt-out'' provisions are only there to create an illusion of legitimacy.

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

I believe you're meant to submit sensitive data to a false website or otherwise create a security lapse. When overpaid for an item by paper check, the idea is to have you send back the difference and stick you with the bank penalties when the check bounces like a golf ball core on cement.

Before you do any more advising, Ken, review the rules YOU AGREED TO when you registered with federal DNC, which I pointed to here in late August.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

A direct ''shut up'' to the call center was otherwise the correct move, as I also discussed prior.

... and DJ is one who doesn't believe in comprehending the rules of a service before signing on. Here's the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

As for the other common whine from ''S'', a nuisance caller with an autodialer cannot ''get the message'' or ''take the hint'' you have not delivered. You have to demand an end to the calls DIRECTLY.

The Do Not Call registry is not a defense shield and not a sentry on duty. It's a blanket opt-out mechanism for sales calls which works passively. You were never promised anything more. It's worked wonders to limit calls from honest businesses. No law or program is going to do the same for criminals with autodialers, particularly while they remain hidden behind shell companies, cheap VOIP, and spoofed numbers.

FTC advice on junk callers with autodialers
ftc.gov

It's your job to ''make it stop'', not mine, and not anyone else reading this. Job One is to identify your caller, which would help other readers.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

''Good luck as the situation unfolds'' is by now an infamous talk-off line used broadly by these faux collection criminals. There could be a nationwide storm of FDCPA suits in the US for their ugly threats, except that most of the thugs are safely an ocean away in India and Pakistan.

FTC alert: Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

Why is it that 99% of the time a bigot can't keep his damn trap shut?

Wolfknife, I plainly linked to the DNC FAQ I was referring to. Toward the bottom it explains what happens to complaints and how they may be used. It's by far simpler to read than the average contract. Would the extra mouse click have killed you? I just think to avoid frustration, and potential swindles, it's better to make informed decisions than uninformed leaps of hope. Sorry if what I'm suggesting makes too much work for you.

Fine, JJ .... Drop your registration tomorrow and enjoy the new flood of sales calls. It'll be like 2002 all over again, when you had to chase down every single caller to revoke contact permission.

I'd almost forgotten that both DirecTV and Dish Network have been sued by the FTC more than once for Telemarketing Sales Rule violations.

Consumers Asked DISH Network to Leave Them Alone, But FTC Says Calls Kept Coming
ftc.gov

DirecTV, Comcast fined for violating call rules
cedmagazine.com

This is extortion dressed as collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs, updated Oct 2011, can be seen on the lead page.

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Blocking and ignoring collection contact does not stop the calls at their source and is a good way to attract a lawsuit. Documenting and recording those calls is a good way to help preserve your rights and lay the bricks for your own lawsuit if your rights are denied.

Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

I'd say it means the scammers are brazen with their spoofing.

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:
(2846436572) whocalled.us

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

Some relief came the first week in October 2012 as the FTC spanked whole gangs of these creeps with huge damage awards.

FTC Halts Massive Tech Support Scams
ftc.gov

How nice for you. Now would someone like to describe a phone call using this number?

A scammer gives an ''opt-out'' provision only for the illusion of legitimacy. Just as when one replies in any way to email spam, the first thing any response tells the phone scammer is that yours is a functional phone number which a live person just might respond to again. That is how your phone numbers become commodities, shared with and sold off to other criminals.

Keep reporting those calls. The FTC has choked or stopped several credit reprice scam shops since late 2009. Last month a gang in Atlanta was sent to prison. Without complaints there can be no enforcement.

Adams Sentenced To Over 17 Years In Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Telemarketing Fraud Scheme
justice.gov

Credit Card Interest Rate Reduction Scams
ftc.gov

This is extortion dressed as debt collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs, updated Oct 2011, can be seen on the lead page.

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Jack says debt collector, all the 800Notes comments say surveyor. Either way there is no room for a DNC complaint. The federal Do-Not-Call registry exists to help enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Please note the operative term ''marketing''. Here are the DNC service terms you were supposed to review at registration time:

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

HA! I forgot about that one.

Call him a cab ..... Call him on the carpet ..... Where's Gene Rayburn and the Match Game panel when you need them?

Cheryl, your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. To halt the collection calls you must give notice *directly*.

My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

An American accent is a plus? This one collection agency has changed its name *seven times* to barely stay ahead of the complaints against the illegal thuglike behavior of its reps.

Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Most are simple to exercise if you only learn how. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Your wish has been fulfilled several times, John. These are recent FTC actions:

FTC Action Puts Robocallers Out of the Telemarketing Business
ftc.gov

FTC Shuts Down Robocallers Who Claimed to Reduce Credit Card Interest Rates
ftc.gov

FTC Charges Telemarketers with Illegal Robocalling
ftc.gov


Here are similar credit reprice scammers in Atlanta who were sent to prison last month:

Jury Convicts Woman In $25 Million Nationwide Telemarketing Fraud Scheme
justice.gov

Adams Sentenced To Over 17 Years In Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Telemarketing Fraud Scheme
justice.gov

This sounds like debt collection, or perhaps we should say extortion dressed as collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs, updated Oct 2011, can be seen on the lead page.

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Dennis, I'm sure the scammers know very well to expect a low response rate. But then their overhead is so low they don't need a high response to turn a profit. It's the same buckshot theory business model as in email spam.

Mary, it should be plain by now that verbal demands and keypresses are not going to stop criminals with autodialers. Those false ''opt-out'' provisions are only there to create an illusion of legitimacy. Just as when one replies in any way to email spam, the first thing any response tells the phone scammer is that yours is a functional phone number which a live person just might respond to again. That is how your phone numbers become commodities, shared with and sold off to other criminals.

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

The other caller databases come up empty. Hassling you at your PoE is a common tactic of debt collectors.

If my hunch is good, you'll want to study your federal rights.
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Ah, now it's even worse. A flimsy survey with a sales purpose is a sales call per the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Such a call does not meet DNC exemption, and it's dirty pool besides. In previous months the same scam was run by the same bunch under shifting names -- "Political Opinions of America", "Political Survey Group", and "Independent Survey Group" being the recent masks.

I'd meant to write "autodialer" last time here. Darn keyboard must have wiggled ...

The debtor is you, Dead Air. The original *creditor* is what you meant, and it will not be likely to sell out its hired collection agency. If you attempt a direct contact or payment, you'll be either marched straight to LTD or your ''direct'' payment will be quietly split with LTD per their agreement. If your OC sold your debt outright, it's long gone from the picture and will never see a penny.

Maybe you'll want to study your federal rights before you run with any more faulty assumptions.
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Tonia, your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Federal law entitles you to get a collector's business name on demand even if you have not identified as an alleged debtor.

ftc.gov

800Notes and WhoCallsMe each have a number of comments.

No argument with any of your advice ... I'm guessing this is from another South Asian criminal shop, which means that its stated business name would not much matter.

FTC alert: Who's Calling? That Debt Collector Could Be a Fake
ftc.gov

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs, updated Oct 2011, can be seen on the lead page.

Maybe this is one of those default phone numbers from a service which is prone to abuse. The following is for those of you getting fake PC techs ....

(2846436572) whocalled.us

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

Some relief came the first week in October 2012 as the FTC spanked whole gangs of these creeps with huge damage awards.

FTC Halts Massive Tech Support Scams
ftc.gov

BQ, federal law sets 08:00 in your time zone as the starting time for both debt collection and sales calls, unless you've given notice otherwise.

Unsurprisingly, Tracy C was way off target. The federal Do-Not-Call registry exists to help enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Please note the operative term ''marketing''. A debt collector is not a sales person. Here are the DNC service terms you were supposed to review at registration time:

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Official-type material on US federal collection law which *does* apply:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Beth, what exactly would you like your fellow readers to do to ''STOP THESE CALLERS''? You have to help stop it yourself, by reporting to the FTC and attorneys general, and contributing what you know to sites like this.

Which ''Credit Management''? There are two or three I know of.

Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Most are simple to exercise if you only learn how. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

What bothers you and what should be stopped? These database sites are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice. They don't work until you contribute.

Kish, if you're done throwing tantrums and browbeating comments from three and four years ago, let's do examine what you're shilling for. MCCS, ostensibly an original creditor, has a complaint trail a mile long for collection practices which rival that of the worst third party lawbreakers. Meanwhile Macy's parent Federated Department Stores has some weirdly incestuous relationship with Citi Group. The confusion is understandable. This is something I last wrote about in March 2011.

(7275565492) whocalled.us

Those who live in enlightened states with collection laws that apply to original creditors should not hesitate to learn their rights and sue MCCS into submission when necessary. It should also never be taken on faith that the business name one hears or sees is genuine. If a third party collector apes MCCS or MCCS pretends to be what it's not, federal law (FDCPA) then applies.

Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Mike, even having the caveat of ''if the calls continue'' should suggest that web forms and phone calls are NOT reliable means of revoking a debt collector's permission to call. Those methods provide no proof that one's demands were heard. USPS CMRR does, as I discussed here eleven months ago. With a mint green card in hand there is only one response to further phone calls: a civil summons and complaint!

DBH, FTC complaints are fine for helping others, but do not address *your particular problem*. You can't sit waiting for a rescuer when you were given a whole set of laws designed for YOU to enforce. Here's the CFPB crib sheet:

consumerfinance.gov

Ms. Madruga, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them DIRECTLY to your caller. It is unwise to publish a phone number you meant to protect in an open forum where any data harvester and scammer can find it. Now you can expect more nuisance calls than ever.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

The list view above has always limited us to one report per day. Since the idea was to create a geographic survey of call activity through ZIP code submissions, I think the limiter is there to prevent a sort of ballot stuffing.

Anyway, the FTC has just this week spanked a whole bunch of these fake PC techs for hundreds of millions in court judgments.

FTC Halts Massive Tech Support Scams
ftc.gov

''Even when I hang up''?! How is that the same as actually saying ''Add this number to your Do Not Call list''? The Do Not Call registry, what I presume you mean by ''no call'', does not exist to vaguely ''take care of this''. It provides opt-out from sales callers, which comments elsewhere indicate are NOT using this number.

Here is the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Lou, it's your job to ''stop this caller'' for your own self.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Anthony, stop arguing and put the agency on notice. My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

K, please cite the law which compels surveyors to screen for mobile phone numbers.

Ed, what exactly would you like your fellow readers to do to ''PLEASE STOP THIS COMPANY''? You have to help stop it yourself, by reporting to the FTC and attorneys general, and contributing what you know to sites like this. If you can corner the caller, tell them *directly* what you want. Even better if you can do so by Certified Mail.

The FTC never promised you a magic phone call shield, only a blanket opt-out mechanism.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

It should be plain by now that verbal demands and keypresses are not going to stop criminals with autodialers. Those false ''opt-out'' provisions are only there to create an illusion of legitimacy.

FTC advice on junk callers with autodialers
ftc.gov

Sounds like a ''Foti'' style debt collection call, Julie. You're caught in a skip trace dragnet. My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

Official-type material on US federal collection law, in case someone reading here might be an alleged debtor:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

This could be the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:
(2846436572) whocalled.us

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

At most, Marsha, you've alerted the scammers that yours is a phone number where someone is likely to respond, therefore the calls will continue apace.

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

Receivables Performance Management is the likely full name. ''Receivable'' is only a polysyllabic term for ''debt account'', which means your DNC complaints are for naught.

My advice for a ''not me'' case like Joe can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

Those who may possibly be held liable for some old debt should follow my ''Four-and-a-half D's'' .... Document, Document, Debunk, Dispute, and Defend. That means knowing you have rights and options and how to use them. You can start with official-type material on US federal collection law:

ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Jessica, it should be plain by now that verbal demands and keypresses are not going to stop criminals with autodialers. The FTC is well aware of this, and will be inviting ideas for a technological defense to be aired at the Autumn summit announced in July.

Agency Announces Robocall Summit to be Held October 18 in Washington, DC
ftc.gov

Sarah, your question was already answered in my comment from over a month ago and from Rob before me. It's only two posts down from yours, see?

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

The typical local Mayberry PD doesn't want to touch a civil problem, anyway. They're not trained for phone scams, and really the person in the best position to defend a phone number is its holder.

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:
(2846436572) whocalled.us

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

Because, Dave, scammers in South Asia don't give a damn about your DNC registration. You were not promised a magic phone call shield, only a blanket opt-out mechanism.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

FTC advice on junk callers with autodialers
ftc.gov

Speaking of being ''Not Who They Claim To Be'', Alex Copeland is not ''Too Smart'' if he thinks changing aliases makes his line of crap any less spam-like. The Only Response Alex Copeland Makes To Every Kind Of Call In This Asinine Capitalized Text Style Is To ''Always Answer'' ....

.... even though many telemarketers are paid for a completed call. If call centers were that concerned about their telco bills they would not consider the phone an ideal instrument to get them paid more. The only ones helped by ''always answering'' are the scammers. Makes you wonder about Copeland's stake in consistently giving such faulty advice.

More notes on Copeland's dubious advice are found here from August 2011:
whocalled.us

Just to be clear, I don't perceive Arbitron to be fraudulent, but clearly the firm's call patterns create annoyance.

Alf, it would be more productive to spread your reports to the FTC and attorneys general. Local PD generally doesn't want to touch a civil problem. To get your issue raised to obvious harassment and a TCPA case, you'll have to get the call center locked under your cease-communication notice via USPS CMRR. That will be impossible if this is another South Asian scammer nest.

CH, leaning an elbow on your keyboard is doing nothing to solve the problem. One more time, your callers are not reading this and not in control of any part of this website.

Ms. Robinson, stamping your feet here and wailing ''I want them to stop'' every time your phone rings isn't doing you or the readers any good. (whocalled.us)

These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice. They don't function until *you* contribute.

The magic phrase you want for salesmen, if I can infer that from the listings above, is ''Place my number *on* your Do Not Call list''.

A single comment on 800Notes cites debt collection agency Asset Recovery Solutions. I would presume it has no call center within Connecticut, which makes this a spoof or some other means of fooling you into answering. This I consider deceptive practice and thus violating the FDCPA. Your mom is being pestered to flush you out. Probably your own current phone number is already known. They will call it ''skip tracing'' but I call that deceptive too.

Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Cue up the Jedi Master Yoda quote: ''Try not! Do .. or do not! There is no try.''

That's okay, the scammer wasn't going to reprice those credit accounts anyway. They'll find some way of taking your money if you let them.

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

What's your plan for when the collector resumes calling you next week or so? Right now you can't prove your ''shut up'' was delivered. This is just the sort of thing Certified Mail is for.

By the way, Revenue Cycle rebranded as Optimum Outcomes in May 2012 following a new capital owner the prior year.
oorcm.com

Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Fun facts:

When still known as Academy Collection Service, this agency in November 2008 was spanked for $2.25 million by the FTC for chronic violation of debtors' rights. This remains among the highest penalties ever handed to a debt collector. Shortly thereafter ACS rebranded as Monarch Recovery Management. It did not take them long to attract a new batch of Fair Debt lawsuits since then. ACS or MRM or whatever name it likes needs to be sued by each of you it decides to abuse.

Nationwide Debt Collector Will Pay $2.25 Million to Settle FTC Charges [press release]
ftc.gov

Official-type material on US federal collection law:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Comments on WhoCallsMe cite debt collection agency Monarch Recovery Management. You're likely being used to shame your ex-SIL to come out of hiding, while MRM already has her current phone number. But they will call this skip tracing anyway. An agency rep can be rude and demanding to a point, but legally cannot abuse or harass you.

My advice for a ''not me'' case like yourself can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

This sounds like debt collection, or perhaps we should say extortion dressed as collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs, updated Oct 2011, can be seen on the lead page.

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Action, now that you've practiced your no-call request here, deliver it to the actual caller, which does not maintain this site or this web page.

Here is some official-type reading on federal laws for debt collection:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

LaborSMART hires SPAMMERS for cheap SEO.

No, you need good English lessons.

Kim, your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

FTC advice on junk callers with autodialers
ftc.gov

MS, ''to *whom* it may concern'' is not going to read or obey your demands here. These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice, like Slebron did just before you. Your callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

So don't return the call. Nothing compels you to. But you'd be advised to respond on paper if the collector *thinks* there's a debt with your name on it, or thinks you can help locate someone else and won't stop calling until you ''fess up''.


Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Most are simple to exercise if you only learn how. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

It might help if you described ''these mystery calls'', which is what these database sites are for.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Carl, your picket fence of exclamation points isn't helping, and neither is making your demands here. Your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Before anyone starts crying ''Do Not Call list'', here are the terms *you agreed to* and were prompted to read when you registered:

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

DMH .... Would you like to chase down every single sales shop and revoke their permission to call you? That's how it was a decade ago before the DNC registry was launched to assist enforcement of the Telemarketing Sales Rule. The program still works as intended, and quite well with domestic telemarketers who care about staying out of trouble.

The issue now is not a failure of law but a technological gap. Cheap VOIP service and Caller ID spoofing were not available as tools of concealment to phone scammers when the DNC program was established. The FTC is well aware of this, and will be inviting ideas for a technological defense to be aired at the Autumn summit announced in July.

Agency Announces Robocall Summit to be Held October 18 in Washington, DC
ftc.gov

That's right, Terryl, ''they will not stop'' until you MAKE them stop, on paper like I told everyone two whole years ago and four comments prior.

My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

I love how the shill posting behind Terryl can't even spell his own employer's name, much less ''weasel'' ... an apt description of its typical phone jockey.

Tired, you're not helpless as an employer. In fact, you get special mention in the FDCPA. As I discussed here in February, hostile skip tracing is common from this industry. Part of the scthick is to insist you're a liar until you either give yourself up or open the broom closet where the alleged debtor is supposedly hiding.

That sort of hounding with layers of cursing and abuse is illegal. You've a cause of action to spank RPM and the individual reps in court. The next official-type links will start you on your homework.

ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Verbal demands are totally useless against your attack dogs, so you need to move to a paper trail as I've also discussed before. Save copies of all phone calls if you have a recording system and take copious notes every time you have an encounter. You are gathering evidence which you will need badly.

You are likely to find the calls are placed by a commercial fundraiser, such as Associated Community Services, Dial America, Donor Services Group, Harris, InfoCision, MDS, and TeleFund. As commercial entities, these hired call centers are expected to honor an internal no-call list and add any number upon request. Break that order, the FTC declares, and ''the telemarketer may be subject to a fine of up to $16,000.'' They are also covered to a point by other regulations for telepests, so you can kvetch about abandoned calls, bot calls to mobile phones, and so on.

March of Dimes has been a longtime client of InfoCision, but that may not be an exclusive deal. In a comment from Jan 2012 linked below, find the simple steps I took to rid myself of that major pain boiler room by politely rubbing its face in federal laws. You will note that I never rely on verbal cease-communication demands.
(9018819984) whocalled.us

ComputerGuy speaks truth .... Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Most are simple to exercise if you only learn how. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

CC: From this story and those on the 800Notes thread you've also seen, I was about to write this off as another South Asian fake PDL thug. But a usually reliable consumer forum pegged an Oregon address a few years ago.

Davis Law Firm (Oregon) - threatening to sue me
debtconsolidationcare.com

You and others reporting in have endured numerous FDCPA violations. Hope that intel leads to an address you all can serve a summons.

95% chance that ''MoD'' is short for March of Dimes. The call source may be commercial fundraiser InfoCision in Akron. You might want to be certain you did not misreport the area code.

(9142942395) whocalled.us

Your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Carlos, what exactly would you like your fellow readers to do to ''STOP THIS FRAUD''? You have to help stop it yourself, by reporting to the FTC and attorneys general.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

I infer that the ruse as reported here tries to fool you into thinking the caller has an established relationship, through some vague ''survey'' you have supposedly forgotten which provided written consent to call. Do be mindful that this is exactly the business model of one major pain telemarketer, Worldwide Commerce Associates, which tricks you into consenting to sales calls through contest and survey forms.

Okay, I won't call you a freak. I won't call you Shirley, either.

How nice for you. Now would someone like to describe a phone call using this number?

Why, you gonna pay me for the attention you're begging?

The ''StopDebtCollectorsHarassment'' domain is one of several managed by Centennial Law in Ventura, CA. Centennial is a paper mill law firm which spammed this website several hundred times in 2010. Its posts were poorly composed and full of misspellings and misleading statements about consumer rights. The object was to drive traffic to its own slap-dash website, on which nearly every page links to a ''violation report'' form which in reality is a prelude to a paid ''representation agreement''.

What Centennial wants is a fast payday from dead easy cases and to give lip service to actually defending your rights. The collectors find their efforts laughable and I find their whole operation fairly sleazy. Many of the problems they want to ''handle'' don't even require a lawyer, just a little work and Certified mail fees -- the ''things you can do to stop them from calling'' being a prime example.

You will note that a prior commentor here couldn't be bothered to understand his rights or unlearn his faulty assumptions, so kept coming back here to complain about Van Ru's calls over the course of seven months. Sitting still and fuming isn't getting the job done. Filing a complaint and waiting for a hero doesn't solve your problem. Paying a sloppy spammer a premium to send cookie-cut letters could place you in a worse fix than ever. If you want it done right, do the homework and take charge yourself!

Here are the official resources to get you started:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Maybe where you live, Diana, ''Sunday morning phones calls are illegal''. The Telemarketing Sales Rule and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act say otherwise. What makes these calls much more broadly violative is when they reach numbers registered with federal and state ''no-call'' lists. What makes them illegal everywhere is the fact that canned sales calls are being delivered via sutodialer.

Telemarketing Sales Rule
business.ftc.gov

A debt collector should not be repeatedly pumping you for information, if that's what you meant. They get one call to ''locate'' the alleged debtor, unless they consider your response faulty, which many do. Often they are ''locating'' someone who is already found, to create false shame. That's illegal, as is discussing the debt account with the wrong person.

relevant federal laws
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Brenda, the DNC registry can't help you. The federal Do-Not-Call registry exists to help enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Please note the operative term ''marketing''. A debt collector is not a sales person. Here are the DNC service terms you were supposed to review at registration time:

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

It's a debt collection agency, and reportedly a hostile one.

Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Most are simple to exercise if you only learn how. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Suzy, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

Making your plea twice as absurd, this all-zero phone number is the all-time lamest spoof which can be and has been used by an infinite number of scammers. Reading but a few of the thousand-and-change comments prior to yours would have told you that.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

That's right Fred, ''du gubment'', specifically the FTC, doesn't do nothing to control illegal callers. It does SOMEthing instead, such as collecting your complaints and spanking the worst violators in federal lawsuits. They can't do anything while YOU do nothing, apart from moaning about how ''the govt don't do nothing''.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Jesee, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Your ''Legal Actions'' will be extremely limited if you can't find your caller within US borders, as is often the case with credit reprice scammers.

The fake utility callers are hardly ''above the law'', but like many phone scammers they have raced ahead of it with cheap VOIP and number spoofing.

FTC advice on junk callers with autodialers
ftc.gov

RW, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. Criminals with autodialers in South Asia won't obey your demands in any case.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

FTC advice on junk callers with autodialers
ftc.gov

Comments elsewhere cite Mid-Continent Credit Services, a debt collection agency in Wichita. The FCC has almost no jurisdiction and the DNC registry has zero bearing. The federal Do-Not-Call registry exists to help enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Please note the operative term ''marketing''. A debt collector is not a sales person. Here are the DNC service terms you were supposed to review at registration time:

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

As to not volunteering a business name, the federal law which *does* apply does not compel a MidCCS rep to give up a business name until you ask for it. Like all collectors they have to respect an alleged debtor's privacy and avoid spilling too much to the wrong person. That said, this agency is reportedly prone to break other rules just like most of their industry peers.

. . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Most are simple to exercise if you only learn how. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Fed Up: Your DNC registration is a blanket opt-out from sales callers who care about staying legal. Criminals with autodialers in South Asia don't care at all about your rights. Also, the FCC is not the only regulator in town. File complaints with the FTC and attorneys general.

A scammer gives an ''opt-out'' provision only for the illusion of legitimacy. Just as when one replies in any way to email spam, the first thing any response tells the phone scammer is that yours is a functional phone number which a live person just might respond to again. That is how your phone numbers become commodities, shared with and sold off to other criminals.

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

Barbara, your DNC registration is a blanket opt-out from sales callers who care about staying legal. Criminals with autodialers in South Asia don't care at all about your rights. File complaints with the FTC and attorneys general.

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

Comments elsewhere cite ''WCA'', the acronym for Worldwide Commerce Associates. If you are getting their calls, there is a very good chance that YOU INVITED them, even if unwittingly. The next link explains more.

(6093189538) whocalled.us

Comments elsewhere cite collection calls for Old Navy accounts, which are serviced by GE Capital Retail Bank, fka GE Money Bank. If the calls are from in-house collectors, only state collection laws can help you control them if you have any applicable to original creditors. Here's the dope on federal laws in play if the caller is a third party or GE tries to disguise itself ....

ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Daisy, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

As wls508 has observed this to be a Bobsled number, identifying the callers using it is simply not possible without engaging the caller to some extent. Google Voice has a similar feature and a similar problem with service abuse.

Thank you Ron, for the keyboard sewage.

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:
(2846436572) whocalled.us

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

Joe, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice. They are *NOT* direct open channels to the phone bank boiler rooms we comment upon.

American Diabetes has indeed been an InfoCision client. If the call center rep won't tell you as required which commercial fundraiser pays her salary, there are ways to find out. A charity call campaign must usually be cleared through some agency or regulator in your state, and many states make activity reports available online. They often reveal a specified period of weeks or months in which the group is permitted to solicit, sometimes tracking well with the observations on these call forums. Find those reports and you may find your call source, not to mention a local regulator to advise of your displeasure.

Late last year I banished InfoCision from our phone lines by taking my gripes to its doorstep. My investment in USPS fees and paper was less than six dollars and the solution is permanent. InfoCision's general counsel may correctly infer that its next phone call on behalf of *any* client, not just ADA, will be answered with a summons and complaint. Thus far, not a peep has been heard from the pride of Akron.

Meantime, you sunk about eighteen times what I spent into this year's blocking gadget darling, the pests can continue calling for any one of their dozens of very profitable ''charity'' clients, you have to keep identifying the ever-shifting inbound numbers and updating the device, and you can't sue for relief if the problem worsens and/or your geegaw goes ''tilt'' due to a finite blacklist capacity.

Linked below is my story of politely rubbing the call center's face in federal laws. Do note that I never rely on verbal cease-communication demands, and the steps I have outlined may be applied to any commercial fundraiser.
(9018819984) whocalled.us

So who are ''they''? What category of caller do you mean? You know there are some callers which must obey privacy statutes and AVOID self-identification, right?

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:
(2846436572) whocalled.us

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

People, it should be plain by now that verbal demands and keypresses are not going to stop criminals with autodialers. Those false ''opt-out'' provisions are only there to create an illusion of legitimacy.

FTC advice on junk callers with autodialers
ftc.gov

Who are ''these people''? If you can provide a business name and/or details on the caller's stated purpose, you might get a more helpful response. The magic phrase for sales callers is NOT ''take me off'', but ''Add this number to your Do Not Call list''.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Bill, it would help others if you identified ''these people''. 800Notes comments roundly cite debt collection agency iQor aka Allied Interstate. Please confirm.

These are lawbreaking junk debt bottom feeders, and this is not the first time I've heard of them chasing an account dating to the Reagan administration. You don't owe them explanations any more than money. They have owed you a dunning letter promptly after the first contact, else they violated federal law. You must stop arguing with those fools on the phone and get on a paper trail.

You must also stop trying to prove your case. They don't want your stories, they just want your money, truth and evidence be damned. The burden of proof is theirs, and it's a sure bet they won't have any. There are two ways you could play this, depending on your patience.

1) Send a ''cease communication'' notice via USPS Certified with return card. This is the method promoted by the FTC and many consumer watchdogs, who will explain how you can do some legal damage if that notice is ignored. See my comment from 29 August 2012 in this thread for more:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

2) Send a written dispute, in which you demand validation and state that phone calls are ''inconvenient''. Then sit and wait. See if they keep calling. Watch your mail for more payment demands. Sooner or later AI is prone to doing something stupid which will give you a cause of action per FDCPA. They'll have to pay you and your lawyer for the grief they've given you for so long, though note that only the past year of incidents will count toward your damage award.

official-type reading on the FDCPA:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

FK, your DNC registration will never be seen or acknowledged by these phone scammers, and legitimate sales callers get 30 free days to bomb your phone. If you'd read the federal DNC terms like you were supposed to, you would know were not promised a magical shield which repels all unwanted callers.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Hope is a flimsy shelter against credit reprice scammers. All you've done is to signal that yours is a functional phone number which a live person just might respond to again. That is how your phone numbers become commodities, shared with and sold off to other criminals.

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

FTC advice on junk callers with autodialers
ftc.gov

The goal is not merely software sales but to exploit your system. This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:
(2846436572) whocalled.us

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

Doesn't matter if the sales call originates in New Delhi or Dallas or a block from your house. If your number is DNC-registered, the sales call violates the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Spoofing a local number only compounds the problem.

Why do you need to wait for call number zillion-and-one to file complaints? Weren't the first five or ten to your home and PoE enough? You might want to determine if the collector is a third party, thus subject to FDCPA. In any case, send the call source a ''cease communication'' notice via USPS Certified with return card. This is the method promoted by the FTC and many consumer watchdogs, who will explain how you can do some damage if that notice is ignored.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Most are simple to exercise if you only learn how. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Jane, a charity and its hired call center both want your money. What other reason would you like for the calls? That's nice to know you'd registered your numbers with the federal DNC. Maybe it's about time you read the terms *you agreed to*, as you were invited to do on the registration website. (See items 28 through 32.)

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

You are likely to find the calls are placed by a commercial fundraiser, such as Associated Community Services, Dial America, Donor Services Group, Harris, InfoCision, MDS, and TeleFund. As commercial entities, these hired call centers are expected to honor an internal no-call list and add any number upon request. Break that order, the FTC declares, and ''the telemarketer may be subject to a fine of up to $16,000.'' They are also covered to a point by other regulations for telepests, so you can kvetch about abandoned calls, bot calls to mobile phones, and so on.

In a comment from Jan 2012 linked below, find the simple steps I took to rid myself of a major pain boiler room by politely rubbing its face in federal laws. You will note that I never rely on verbal cease-communication demands.
(9018819984) whocalled.us

Craig, since you insist on playing invisible, AACC is technically allowed to call everyone and the neighbor's dog to ''locate'' you until told to stop, preferably on Certified Mailed paper. You might want to poll them for what they were told about your problem, since it is illegal for AACC to shame you through excessive disclosures to third parties, and this collector has been known to do so.

In fact, AACC has routinely broken about every part of federal collections law, and was spanked by the FTC in January.

Under FTC Settlement, Debt Buyer Agrees to Pay $2.5 Million for Alleged Consumer Deception
ftc.gov

This case inspired a brand new FTC alert which was frankly overdue, given that consumer watchdogs have criticized the illegal antics of volume debt buyers for years.

Time-Barred Debts: Understanding Your Rights When It Comes to Old Debts
ftc.gov

Shelly, the FTC does file suit against the worst illegal callers, when they can be cornered. Cheap VOIP service and Caller ID spoofing were not available as tools of concealment to phone scammers when the DNC program was established. The FTC is well aware of this, and will be inviting ideas for a technological defense to be aired at the Autumn summit announced in July.

Agency Announces Robocall Summit to be Held October 18 in Washington, DC
ftc.gov

it should be plain by now that verbal demands and keypresses are not going to stop criminals with autodialers. Those false ''opt-out'' provisions are only there to create an illusion of legitimacy. Just as when one replies in any way to email spam, the first thing any response tells the phone scammer is that yours is a functional phone number which a live person just might respond to again. That is how your phone numbers become commodities, shared with and sold off to other criminals.

Not happy to see another stupid spammer changing user names and making inane remarks.

Uuuuh ... Jerome and Nunya, you *could* try actually telling the caller to stop. If the surveyor proves stubborn I would recommend a ''cease communication'' notice via USPS Certified with return card.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Judy, you and Vinny apparently sign onto services without bothering to understand their terms and limitations. Here's the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Shirley, you could maybe follow my link from a month ago and find your own answers.

Molly, see my comment from 24 Sep.

Blah, have you not heard the phrase, ''What you permit you encourage''? If we don't report violative calls to the FTC and attorneys general and the DNC database and any other valid complaint desk, it's as good as condoning the nuisance calls.

As for a technological defense, I consider it a measure of last resort after direct confrontation and court action. But a direct approach is not always possible when the call center is in a foreign country and/or cannot be found without an extremely costly effort. Hardware blocking gadgets are soon overwhelmed, to be sure. What's needed is something flexible with unlimited capacity, like the caller management features available on a good VOIP service .... incidentally like the ones the scammers are using.

Oh, right, and ''serious'' debt collectors *never* file lawsuits based on little or no proof, not more than a few thousand times a week, anyway. Given the trigger words ''charges'' and ''serve papers'' in this she-clown's script, I'm leaning toward a ''zero proof'' status. If this bimbo is within US borders, she and her boss can be named in a *real* lawsuit for such deception and coercion.

Another take on the FDCPA from the CFPB:
consumerfinance.gov

Ms. Unger, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller. The phrase is ''Do Not Call'' list, no past tense.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

yes, and we all know how diligent everyone is who signs onto a no-call list, carefully reading about its terms and limitations so that no one ever complains for the wrong reason .....

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

We also know of the consistent due diligence shown by users of database sites like this, where the correction for their faulty assumptions could be found -- oh, let's say six little posts and two years prior to their arrival.

Ms. Diaz, your scam call and SMS source does not maintain this site or this web page. The scammer is not likely to ever stop and you should not respond directly. In any case, no caller can magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments.

Some links to good advice on various forms of this bank account phishing scam, many with annotated examples:

More Fake Bank of America Malware Lures
spamwars.com

Phony Bank of America Alert Emails Link to Malware
hyphenet.com

Another Bank of America phishing scam
sites.udel.edu

Bank of America Alert
fraudwatchinternational.com

'Smishing' scammers may hit cellphones
usatoday.com

Too funny. The only ''moral law'' at issue is about a lying stooge reading from a script.

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:

(2846436572) whocalled.us

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
microsoft.com

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
answers.microsoft.com

Ilya, what did I just say six days ago?! The name of this website in that header up there is ''Who Called Us'', NOT whatever utility serves your region! AGAIN, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Now that you've published your personal phone number, you can expect yet more trashy calls from more scammers.

Ron, Kar, and Tina have all discovered the awful truth that criminals with autodialers have no intention whatsoever of ceasing their calls. Those false ''opt-out'' provisions are only there to create an illusion of legitimacy. Just as when one replies in any way to email spam, the first thing any response tells the phone scammer is that yours is a functional phone number which a live person just might respond to again. That is how your phone numbers become commodities, shared with and sold off to other criminals.

The FTC's recent advisory says much the same thing.
ftc.gov

Yes, the old ''you must have filled a survey'' which is kept conveniently vague ... anything to create doubt that the dealer lacks a good reason to be forwarded telemarketer ''lead'' calls. Rhode Island is home to one of the worst culprits in the game of illegal alarm sales calls. My comments from two years ago in a WCU thread linked below fills in some background, and the ''Stop Tom'' site gives you an idea of the current messy state of the problem.

(4014010125) whocalled.us
stoptomwithhomeprotection.wordpress.com

Your verbal demands are useless in any case, Charles. Get on a Certified Mail paper trail if you want to be taken seriously.

Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Most are simple to exercise if you only learn how. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Having a lot of your private information may only mean the caller's boss has paid to obtain it as a ''lead''. It does not prove you owe anything, nor does it prove any ''hot check'' or payday loan claim.

This is most likely extortion dressed as debt collection. Could be from the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs, updated Oct 2011, can be seen on the lead page.

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

You and I lowly citizens can't sue these foreign criminals, Roy, which is part of what shields those phony operations. File complaints with the FTC and your attorney general. I think the FBI and Secret Service could use a few hundred more reports, too.

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3):
ic3.gov

Secret Service (mandated to investigate all sorts of financial and electronic fraud)
secretservice.gov

One other attack vector is suggested in that PacTel blog I've cited. Find who controls the phone carriers and the relevant state regulators and give them all a talking-to. This is very similar to a well established method of fighting email spam, the goal of which is to deny the spammer its upstream provider.

Angry Bird: You are wasting your time trying to set a verbal cease-comm. Mistrust of any ''wrong number'' claim is standard procedure at all the rogue collection agencies. First, send a ''cease communication'' notice via USPS Certified with return card. I mentioned this response in this thread fifteen months ago. Here's some more detail on how I tell collection agencies to shove off, in a comment from 29 August 2012:

(8773052082) whocalled.us

Second, I would save copies of all messages and make a careful review and detailed notes on every CCS call you've received, and continue making notes DURING the next calls. Clean audio recording will also help. As a ''not me'' case, you get limited protection under the FDCPA. You may have causes of action to sue for relief since the reps decide that browbeating and insulting you will get them paid faster.

''Windows Department'' .... That's rich. Not a single fake PC tech scammer has ever displayed more than a kindergarten grade of technical knowledge. See this thread for more:

(2846436572) whocalled.us

Comments elsewhere point to another medical lawsuit cattle call from WCA, which jives with other recently reported phone numbers pushing the same offer. WCA is the acronym for Worldwide Commerce Associates. If you are getting their calls, there is a very good chance that YOU INVITED them, even if unwittingly. The next link explains more.

(6093189538) whocalled.us

Hear, hear, Helper. I cannot put a price to the number of times a nuisance call database like this has helped me unmask and debunk those callers which wanted to steal my money and/or abuse my rights.

By the way, here's a look at all the ''nothing'' regulators have done to control illegal nuisance callers. Please note there is more than one federal body at work. Hope you have a few free hours to read it all.

Enforcement of the Do Not Call Registry (summary, links)
ftc.gov

Enforcement Action Announcements - Alphabetical
ftc.gov

Press Releases - Chronological
ftc.gov

ABC, your school number is not on the scammer's ''list''. This sort of phone scammer doesn't need to compile one, but instead autodials every number in creation until some ninny falls for its ruse.

FTC advice on junk callers with autodialers
ftc.gov

Helen, no one reading this is ''sending'' you calls. Your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

WCA is the acronym for Worldwide Commerce Associates. If you are getting their calls, there is a very good chance that YOU INVITED them, even if unwittingly. The next link explains more.

(6093189538) whocalled.us

Ms. Barnes: Your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Continental Finance appears to be a subprime lender with a trail of complaints behind it, many regarding collection practices.

Fun facts: Debt collector West Asset Management, part of the Hanna family of scofflaw agencies, was fined $2.8 million in March 2011 by the FTC for chronic FDCPA violation, setting a new record high for the industry. WAM's crimes were no different from those of its peers: runaway skip tracing, abusive and hostile phone reps, illegal threats, privacy violation, ignoring 'no-call' demands, wrongful seizure of savings, outright lies .... on and on, practically every part of FDCPA trampled on like the collector's victims.

Leading Debt Collector Agrees to Pay Record $2.8 Million to Settle FTC Charges [press release]
ftc.gov
business.ftc.gov

My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

Going unlisted or unpublished is like hiding behind a bush from a killer with a tommy gun. Maybe his eyes can't find you, but his bullets can. Phone scammers like these credit reprice goons simply park an autodialer in the office and let it blast millions of numbers daily.

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

I think you meant ''attorney'', not that it means a real attorney was calling. You're right that a ''new'' phone number is usually recycled, and with it comes the flotsam of the prior holders. If the collector has no claim on you, send a ''cease communication'' notice via USPS Certified with return card. This is the method promoted by the FTC and many consumer watchdogs, who will explain how you can do some damage if that notice is ignored.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Most are simple to exercise if you only learn how. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

A few 800Notes comments point to telemarketer Worldwide Commerce Associates. If you are getting calls tagged with ''WCA'' or indicating that source, there is a very good chance that YOU INVITED the calls! See the linked thread:

(6093189538) whocalled.us

Dave, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller is not going to dutifully study random forum complaints and cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Kenneth, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller is not going to dutifully study random forum complaints and cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Most are simple to exercise if you only learn how. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

While I agree it's ''your dime, your time'', if we all ''just hang up, hang up'' in all caps, the calls will not stop. Someone has to at least try to identify the junk call sources so they can be punished. Seeing the scammers driven from their offices and perhaps jailed will hardly be a waste of time.

A couple of commentors to 800Notes, where you've also posted today, believe the caller is a debt collector. If so, ranting about a no-call list is getting you nowhere. Ranting here in general is not stopping the calls.

The federal Do-Not-Call registry exists to help enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Please note the operative term ''marketing''. A debt collector is not a sales person. Here are the DNC service terms you were supposed to review at registration time:

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Here's the dope on federal laws which do apply, which you can use to limit or halt calls, avoid getting ripped off by scofflaw collectors, and sue them for relief if necessary.

ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Business name, please?

I'll take some guesses from my debt collection agency roster:

Financial Asset Management Systems
First Financial Asset Management

Please obtain a business name stright from the caller. By federal law you cannot be refused this information. Here's some more about those laws:

ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Elsewhere the name Alliance One is usually cited. It rather sounds like the collection rep was waiting for you to fill in the blanks and ''admit' to some debt. A debt collector needs a permissable purpose to pull your credit report, such as being assigned a debt account. This clown is vaguely claiming your aggregate of all debts makes you somehow liable to his boss. Maybe he has no valid debt claim, maybe never pulled your report. Somewhere in this mess I think you already have a FDCPA cause of action.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Most are simple to exercise if you only learn how. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Carmen, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Ryan, I don't know where you got your ''understanding'' of a ''$1,000 per incident fine''. $1K is the FDCPA statutory damage cap, awarded to a winning plaintiff *per action*, not per violation. FDCPA applies only to a third party debt collector, which a lender is not. You would have to catch an original creditor (OC) posing as something it's not before you have a FDCPA claim.

If you still want to litigate against the bank's collectors, you'll need a state collections law which covers an OC. You can also see if you have claims under TILA, UCC, or deceptive trade regs. Don't expect to get rich, though. Capital One bought most of the HSBC credit card portfolio this Spring, which includes the Orchard accounts, and they looooove going to court and punishing their debtors.

Most HSBC Credit Cards Become Capital One Credit Cards
cardhub.com

All said, keeping careful records and reporting to the FTC and attorneys general make a healthy response to a huge problem, mainly the general lack of control over hostile in-house collectors. Ten calls a day on average is difficult not to paint as annoying and possibly violating your rights. You would be well advised to send the caller a ''cease communication'' notice via USPS Certified with return card. This will raise future incidents to harrassment, thus to clear a path to a civil damage award. Maybe your state can impose a criminal penalty as well.

Correct, Mo ... the South Asian scammers, and really any ''phony'' caller, can and do routinely spoof any number they please. Otherwise it's a ''spam harbor'' style arrangement with a US carrier like the infamous Pacific Telecomm.

Here's a whole blog devoted to the PacTel problem.
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

Here's the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Maybe instead of throwing all-caps tantrums under changing aliases (see also ''Pissed Off'' whocalled.us) you could comprehend the terms YOU AGREED TO of a NO-FEE SERVICE.

These credit reprice scammers should ''qualify'' for a heavy civil fine and a few years in prison. They will make any ridiculous excuse for their lawbreaking until the day spoofed numbers and shell companies and disinterested foreign governments can no longer hide them.

FTC advice on junk callers with autodialers
ftc.gov

Your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:

(2846436572) whocalled.us

These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice. They are *NOT* direct open channels to the phone bank boiler rooms we comment upon.

Your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

I don't know who you think will be reading this, Stephanie. This is a database made from user reports, like similar sites. Looking around at those, you know more about this caller than anyone at the moment.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Thomas, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice. They are *NOT* direct open channels to the phone bank boiler rooms we comment upon. The magic phrase you want for salesmen is ''Place my number *on* your Do Not Call list''.

Riemar, no one else reading this page can ''please block'' anything for you. Again, revoking permission to call you is *your job* when the caller is otherwise DNC-exempt.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

JL, scam callers like this do not need to ''find'', ''get'', ''have'', or ''receive'' your phone number any more than you need to own the numeral '7' before throwing dice to win at a gambling table. Most of these credit reprice scammers are out of control and beyond easy reach. For now, file complaints with the FTC and attorneys general.

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

Complaining here will not end the calls, if that's what you're thinking.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

This is extortion dressed as collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs, updated Oct 2011, can be seen on the lead page.

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Angry, the FCC has almost no jurisdiction over debt collectors. As cited several times in this thread, the FTC is the go-to federal regulator, at least until the CFPB finishes unpacking its moving crates.

A review of the relevant federal laws should point you all to your options.
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Hmm, I'm not sure where FoF gets that $10K prize. The FCRA is not a strict liability law. If your inaccurate credit report trade line gets cured after your complaint, the cause of action vanishes. Credit InfoCenter and DebtorBoards each provide guidance from the trenches regarding credit reporting disputes.

Here's the official material on the FDCPA for bad collector behavior:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Ms. Butterfield will ''assist or at least attempt to''? How not very assuring. I'll stick to a Certified Mailed notice, thanks. My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

Reports elsewhere cite Preimer Legal Services LLC in Brooklyn, known for process service and court filing. It's not clear if the illegal calls are theirs or some South Asian boiler room has ''borrowed'' this number to appear legitimate.


Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Most are simple to exercise if you only learn how. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs, updated Oct 2011, can be seen on the lead page.

Shannon, a FDCPA lawsuit is both possible and warranted, but it's your Dad who has the cause of action. He was the person harmed by the disclosure to you of his alleged debt. He will need a well preserved copy of that message and any other calls to you and your contemporaneous notes from those calls if any were made. A decent consumer lawyer should run that case on contingency if your father won't work pro se. His legal fees will be covered by the loser.

You and Alyssa and Cathy are likely all examples of a ''not me'' case caught in a sham skip trace dragnet. You'll notice from Alyssa's story that handing over the targeted person does not end the calls, and that Cathy sussed the collector had no good excuse to call the wrong house. The object of pestering relatives is to create false shame and flush out the alleged debtor with checkbook in hand. This is illegal when couched as an effort to ''locate'' a person.

My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

If you're going to shill for a lawbreaking debt collector you could at least do it in English.

Federal collection industry laws
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Tammy, the FCC has almost no jurisdiction over debt collectors. The calls continued because you ''filed a complaint'' and sat back waiting for a rescue. The calls will continue until YOU take charge and confront their source, in print and on the record. The laws already discussed in this thread are there to help you.

From the FCC:

''Autodialers that deliver a recorded message must release the called party’s telephone line within five seconds of the time that the calling system receives notification that the called party’s line has hung up. In some areas, you could experience a delay before you can get a dial tone again.''

fcc.gov

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:

(2846436572) whocalled.us

Yes, Laura, your keypress response will work .... to signal the scammer that your number is a ''live one'' where future victims may be found. A scammer gives an ''opt-out'' provision only for the illusion of legitimacy.

My comments from two years ago in a thread linked below fills in some background on the illegal security system sales calls, and the ''Stop Tom'' site gives you an idea of the current messy state of the problem.

(4014010125) whocalled.us
stoptomwithhomeprotection.wordpress.com

Sarah, it is not a ''call from NANPA''. Follow the link to learn what NANPA does. You could have gotten a hint by hovering your cursor over the acronym when a NANP reference is seen on any WCU page like this one.

nanpa.com

Your ''knowledgeable person from the telephone company'' apparently was never told that phone audio is often limited at the trunk or by the call center equipment. Comments by the hundred pour into these database sites each week from people crowing about their use of whistles, air horns, gongs, trombones, and whatever else. Everyone beams as though they're the first to think of it. The overall nuisance call volume does not drop as a result. The trashy callers have not been stopped at their source. All you are doing is creating a futile contest to see which side can be the most obnoxious.

Here is all the ''nothing'' which has been done at the federal level to control illegal nuisance callers. Hope you have a few free hours to read it all.

Enforcement of the Do Not Call Registry (summary, links)
ftc.gov

Enforcement Action Announcements - Alphabetical
ftc.gov

Press Releases - Chronological
ftc.gov

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

Sarah, sales callers do not maintain this site or this web page. Your callers cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your callers.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

A scam caller like the kind blasting out these alarm sales pitches won't hear your complaints or obey your demands unless you can find a domestic address to serve a summons. My comments from two years ago in a thread linked below fills in some background, and the ''Stop Tom'' site gives you an idea of the current messy state of the problem.

(4014010125) whocalled.us
stoptomwithhomeprotection.wordpress.com

To ''act without your approval'' could mean he's going to fold paper airplanes or count the sugar packets in the collection office break room. Of course you're meant to imagine you are a step away from getting sued, much like the ''case number'' line heard by BeenHereBefore.

Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Most are simple to exercise if you only learn how. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Davis and Babsy: I discussed this a year ago in this thread, but apparently reading before you post is just too much work for you. One more time now .....

The federal Do-Not-Call registry exists to help enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Please note the operative term ''marketing''. A debt collector is not a sales person. Here are the DNC service terms you were supposed to review at registration time:

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Your realistic options for limiting or banning collection calls have also been discussed repeatedly. Note again that debt collectors are notoriously deaf to verbal requests. It's not so much incompetence as the policy of lawbreaking debt collectors across the industry to assume you are a liar until you give an answer which gets one paid.

You will only ''win'' when you discontinue all phone service forever, which is not much of a win. Regulators cannot ''do a thing'' until you do *your part* and determine the nature of a call and report those which truly violate laws to the FTC and attorneys general. At the moment no one here has yet bothered to discover who are ''these telemarketers''.

No one else reading this page can ''please report this number'' on your behalf. Your caller is not going to dutifully study random forum complaints and cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice. Control of nuisance calls to your numbers is ultimately your own problem.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Walker, you've been on these database sites long enough to know it's not always that simple. Screening through Caller ID is not always possible if the display is nowhere near the user at the first ring, or the user has a vision impairment, or there are circumstances which make such screening unfeasible.

I had such a problem when I was the phone traffic manager for dozens of health care workers and other service providers during the weeks my mother was dying. Most of the calls were from mobile phones or dialed through dispatchers, and sent next to nothing for CID data. Because there was never time to waste, I had no choice but to suspend the house rules on call screening.

NightRaider, No one can ''get the message'' which you have not given. An autodialer is not capable of taking hints. It doesn't need coffee breaks or sick leave and it doesn't care how pissy you feel. If you want the calls to halt at the source, you have to actually make direct contact as I've discussed here prior.

Your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

This sounds like debt collection, or perhaps we should say extortion dressed as collection. Could be the usual US lawbreaker or a fake collector from South Asia. I'm leaning toward the latter based on the few remarks here. Try to get a business name and share it with the readers. By federal law this name cannot be withheld.

On 800Notes in the ''Debt Collection Calls'' forum is a thread titled ''Fake payday loan collection scams - Please list new numbers here [2]''. My notes and advice on the payday loan collection thugs, updated Oct 2011, can be seen on the lead page.

The following will be useful if you have a US domestic collector calling:

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

JP, your DoB is known to be of greater value to identity thieves than even SSN. A debt collector can cross reference to something less sensitive like a mailing address and will just have to be satisifed with that as authentication. If this was your first contact with a debt collector, you should get the ''mini Miranda'' disclosure as you thought.

The CFPB notes on the FDCPA:
consumerfinance.gov

Here is the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

... and people like you don't care to comprehend the the terms of a service before signing on.

Here's the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Stella, a phone scammer gives an ''opt-out'' provision only for the illusion of legitimacy. Just as when one replies in any way to email spam, the first thing any response tells the phone scammer is that yours is a functional phone number which a live person just might respond to again. That is how your phone numbers become commodities, shared with and sold off to other criminals.

Your first stops for complaints can be the FTC and attorneys general. The FTC also maintains a complaint database for eventual enforcement. Instructions are found at the bottom of the Q&A page you were meant to read during DNC registration.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

If you can find a domestic business behind your nuisance calls you may consider filing your own TCPA lawsuit. Private action is however often frustrated by how easily the scammers hide themselves behind spoofed numbers and shell companies. My comments on the alarm system dealers from two years ago in a thread linked below fills in some background, and the ''Stop Tom'' site gives you an idea of the current messy state of the problem.

(4014010125) whocalled.us
stoptomwithhomeprotection.wordpress.com

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:

(2846436572) whocalled.us

This may be the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:

(2846436572) whocalled.us

As discussed in this thread a half year ago, a DNC-exempted caller is by definition not ''violating'' the Telemarketing Sales Rule. You must deal with such callers yourself as Jaxson and Stephanie have just tried to explain. READ AND LEARN BEFORE YOU COMPLAIN!

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:

(2846436572) whocalled.us

By your logic, Simons, if you hide from a gunman behind a small bush you should not feel any bullets. Like all such measures, the federal DNC registry has limitations and exemptions. You were supposed to read all about them when you signed on. Here they are again:

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Tired, you would not need to ask if you'd read about the federal laws I linked to just before your question. The answer is ''yes'' unless your state law says otherwise or you have personally given notice regarding the convenience of phone contact.

The acronym is likely for Debt Recovery Solutions. A debt collector waving a vague phrase like ''filing papers'' is trying to make a legal threat without actually making that threat. It's a threat by perception, which can get you arguing in circles over a FDCPA claim. The ''paper'' could be a simple dunning letter and not a court pleading. But of course you don't know that, and plain consumers are granted a ''least sophisticated'' standard of comprehension, which opens DRS to liability.

Blanca's call ''around 9PM'' had best be before that time. By default, collection calls past 21:00 in your time zone also violate FDCPA.

Here are the official-type sites to begin your homework:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Mistake number one, Susan, was entering an ''agreement'' with a scofflaw agency like PRA in the first place. Sooner or later they will do and say anything to wriggle out of the deal and then punish you for being allegedly ''uncooperative''. It's not too late to dispute the debt claim and assert some of your rights, unless you meant that you're paying toward a court judgment.

Even then you can still control when, where, and how you are contacted, and other legal protections continue to apply, but you have to demand them. Just saying ''I can't pay this much on that date'' is doing nothing to help you. The last thing you want is to hand over the keys to your bank accounts, for then nothing shy of a lawsuit will stop them from dunking a bucket in that well until it's dry. Frankly I think threatening to hassle you until you submit can be seen as violative.

I've mentioned the controlling federal law in this thread a few times but I see I've never dropped any links for homework. Here ya go:

ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

There already IS ''a law against this'' and it turned 35 years old yesterday.

ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

You are likely to also have similar state laws. The debt claim may be imaginary or impossible to prove valid. Even if the claim was credible, you don't want to negotiate terms over the phone anyway.

The threats you heard were illegal and you can sue for relief ... IF the thugs can be found at a domestic address. Comments elsewhere often cite a ''Direct Process Servers'', and describe another South Asian fraud shop. They are fond of using outrageous threats which both display and prey upon ignorance of American legal process. There can't be, for example, an ''order to show cause'' or any ''restraining order'' since debt in North America is strictly a civil matter. Alleged debtors are not criminals and we long ago quit sending them to prison.

Del, ''PRA does not respect the Do Not Call list'' because it does not need to. The federal Do-Not-Call registry exists to help enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Please note the operative term ''marketing''. A debt collector is not a sales person. Here are the DNC service terms you were supposed to review at registration time:

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Over the past two years in this thread I have discussed the laws which *do* apply several times. I'm not repeating myself just for you. The FCC, by the way, has almost no jurisdiction in this matter. The FTC has been managing collector regulation from the start, and the CFPB staff may get around to helping once they finish unpacking their moving crates.

Vinman, it doesn't matter if PASI is working a moldy account from years ago or is assigned accounts fresh from the original creditor. It is a third party collector in every case and therefore subject to state and federal collection practice laws. That means everyone reporting and reading here can control when, how, and where PASI makes contact. They can also raise disputes over their often messy and inaccurate medical billing, and sue for relief if their rights are violated.

official-type resources on those federal rules:
ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

''Snow your pest to the boss''?! Was that meant to be ''show your pests who's boss'' before some high school hack in Eastern Europe got through mangling it? This is what happens when you stupid business owners buy into some SEO package and all you get for the investment is illiterate spam like this.

Curcio and DiPaolo, now that you've practiced your no-call request here, deliver it to the actual caller, which does not maintain this site or this web page. It is unwise to publish a phone number you meant to protect in an open forum where any data harvester and scammer can find it. The magic phrase you want for salesmen is ''Place my number *on* your Do Not Call list''.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

uuuhh, yeah, Windle ..... ''A law for this'' has only been mentioned a dozen or more times in this thread for the past five years.

Well, Min, wishing won't get the job done, and neither will making demands on this website as you've done in the past. This is your problem to solve *directly*.

You are likely to find the majority of charity calls are placed by a commercial fundraiser, such as Associated Community Services, Dial America, Donor Services Group, Harris, InfoCision, MDS, and TeleFund. As commercial entities, these hired call centers are expected to honor an internal no-call list and add any number upon request. Break that order, the FTC declares, and ''the telemarketer may be subject to a fine of up to $16,000.'' They are also covered to a point by other regulations for telepests, so you can kvetch about abandoned calls, bot calls to mobile phones, and so on.

In a comment from Jan 2012 linked below, find the simple steps I took to rid myself of a major pain boiler room by politely rubbing its face in federal laws. You will note that I never rely on verbal cease-communication demands.
(9018819984) whocalled.us

Francoise, you cannot add anyone's phone number but your own to a state or federal no-call registry. Sales callers are required to place your number own *their own internal* no-call lists on request. A pure scam caller is never going to obey your orders in any case, so complaints to the FTC and attorneys general are certainly warranted.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

John, find my August 2010 comment here for some background on the credit reprice scam:
(7142445025) whocalled.us

A prior comment here links to a blog discussing the problem. This is another:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

We've seen these scam shops flourish with their own variations since 2009, but the general scheme has been to find desperate and gullible people with debt problems and sell them a solution which no one has any intention of providing. The cheapest way to operate is to blast a couple million phone numbers a day from a VOIP service without bothering to pay for any No-Call registry access. Scammers don't care who gets hurt in the process, so they sure as hell don't care about your complaints.

Cranston, it's more likely your number was ''added successfully'' to a sucker list to be traded and sold to more scammers. Possibly their ANI (Automatic Number Identification) took care of collecting your number.

Amber, you realize the FTC doesn't restrict your contact to web-based forms, right?

Mascaro, I can well imagine the DNC site is flooded with complaints like yours, which are entirely misfired. The federal DNC registry exists to help enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Please note the operative term ''marketing''. A debt collector is not a sales person. Here are the DNC service terms you were supposed to review at registration time:

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Now, if you can stop fiddling with block lists and your phone carrier for a moment, understand that debt collectors answer to their own laws, which you can use to control how and when and where you are contacted, or else tell 'em to fly a kite.

Bill before you is a great example of a ''not me'' case, and he will never, ever get relief from verbal demands. My advice for a ''not me'' case can be found here, in a comment from 29 August 2012:
(8773052082) whocalled.us

As for your problem, we don't know if Allied Interstate / iQor thinks there's a debt with your name on it. If so, be sure to respond within the specified thirty days to its federally required dunning letter with a dispute and validation request. A debt collection agency can't make a peep regarding the debt account until that request is satisfied. You may in the same letter state that some or all phone calls are ''inconvenient''. Given this agency's documented need to break laws to get at your assets, you should dispute even if you agree slightly with its claim.

You did the right thing. This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:

(2846436572) whocalled.us

Comments elsewhere point to Commercial Recovery Systems / CRS & Associates. A ''claim number'' or ''reference number'' is a giveaway that you have a debt collector tailing you. Here's some homework for learning your federal rights.

ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Looie, read more carefully next time. Following her own report of the caller's behavior, Debbie quoted from the Mountain West Research website. The same quote appears in three prior comments. She probably found it down there and decided to repost in an effort to help. Others have also provided a USPS address, to which I again suggest you send a ''cease communication'' notice via USPS Certified with return card if you find the call center won't listen to a verbal request.

Later you can thank that ''Me'' later for the new flood of scammers once you signal through a keypress that your phone number is a ''live one'' where people respond to junk calls.

FTC advice on junk callers with autodialers
ftc.gov

Cary, a survey caller is not ''reneging'' on your DNC registration unless the call is a cover for a sales pitch. If you find the caller deaf to your verbal demands, turn up your volume by Certified Mail. This has all been discussed before in prior comments. The terms YOU AGREED TO when you registered with DNC were not a secret. Here they are again. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Sam, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them DIRECTLY to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

JP, you're not going to spark any mass media outrage over perfectly legal behavior. The terms YOU AGREED TO when you registered with federal DNC were never a secret and you were nudged to read them repeatedly on the DNC website. See items 28 through 32 in particular.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Some points of misinformation from the call center employees two years ago need rebuttal:

} ''Please take me off your Do Not Call List'' will work.

Yikes, that makes no sense, unless you really mean ''please continue pestering me''. An internal DNC list is what you want! His buddy had it right when posting a month prior. The magic phrase is NOT ''take me off'', but ''Add this number to your Do Not Call list''.

} bill collectors can call as early as 7:30 am ... Sales calls are generally 9:00 to 9:00, but that's more for courtesy .... Legally, we cannot call you past 10:00 pm

What Anton learned in Compliance Training and through ''personal experience'' is not what federal laws say. Both debt collectors and telemarketers are held to a strict thirteen hour daily call period, beginning at 08:00 in your time zone. They can be sued by common citizens for calling too early or too late per FDCPA and TCPA respectively. Surveyors are NOT held by federal law to the same thirteen hours. The more polite firms do observe similar hours. Only your state law which says any different can overcome any of the above.

Great job, Jennifer. You just gave away a phone number you mean to protect to every data harvester and scammer who can find this page, which is to say all of them. Enjoy the new flood of trashy calls.

These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice. They are *NOT* direct open channels to the phone bank boiler rooms we comment upon. The magic phrase you want for salesmen and most other irritants is ''Place my number *on* your Do Not Call list''.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Step, thanks so much for filling my monthly quota of random commentors who accuse me of working in the collection industry. When was the last time a debt collector gave you any idea of the tools which exist to defeat his own efforts? Why don't you ''look into'' the federal law I had already linked to a half year ago if you don't want to believe me.

A plain third party collector such as PRA clearly ''threatening legal pursuits'' when it is not a law firm itself is in violation of the FDCPA and probably every similar state law. PRA cannot send any ''legal letterhead'' for the same reason. Oh, but I'm a ''damn liar'' so let's point you to the statute:
- 1692e(5) ftc.gov

Here's a whole section devoted to that harassment you're so concerned with, not to mention abuse and annoyance:
- 1692d ftc.gov

PRA however can and gleefully will assign your account(s) to the bulk discount lawyer near you if you've not seized your best opportunity to dispute claim. That's within thirty days of its initial dunning letter, required by this cute little statute:
- 1692g ftc.gov

I'll expand on my comments to Luna since you're too cheesed off to apply proper reading comprehension. Next weekday you have free, find a local or state court which has at least fifty debt cases on the docket. Go sit in the gallery and watch the parade of default, summary, and stipulated judgments. Try not to blink or you'll miss how quickly a mass of your neighbors is sent to financial doom while the lawyers walk off with five or six figures for their creditor clients.

Most if not all those people who surrendered to a junk debt collector like PRA did not need to. In fact, a junk debt case can be fairly simple to beat. Maybe the amount was wrong, or was already paid, or the chain of title was broken, or the civil complaint was fatally defective, or the account had slid past SoL. Closer to my point, maybe the pre-suit collection campaign managed to break laws consistently and repeatedly. All those people lost so badly because they ignored the phone calls, deleted the messages, and threw away the letters. The lawyer came with stacks of accusatory paper and those few debtors who bothered to show had nothing to hurl back. Judgment for the plaintiff, next case.

So sorry if legal reality is upsetting to you. When you too have spent a dozen years studying the debt industry and fought a couple collectors to a standstill as a pro se litigant, please come back and insult me then.

Tate, Mitt (with a double 't') and his hired call center are not ''violating'' anything apart from your ignorance. If you'd read before posting, you would not make that remark. But then you didn't read the terms before registering your numbers to the DNC either. Here's the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read at that time. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

If the campaign calls create annoyance, you'll have to ask the caller directly to quit. The magic phrase is NOT ''take me off'', but ''Add this number to your Do Not Call list''.

Thank you for that incomprehensible shilling, Darion / Whiting. Come back when you figure out what your name is and have a comment about actual received phone calls.

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:

(2846436572) whocalled.us

Except to a scammer, it doesn't make sense for anyone to place such a call, and certainly not through the weirdo number seen here which is far from NANPA-compliant. Microsoft is on record as never making any kind of reverse trouble ticket calls or magically monitoring your online traffic.

This is one of those times I like being proven partly wrong. It would have been prudent for ''anonymous'' to qualify that complaint with a state law reference, as such protection is not likely to be available to everyone reading this.

That's a great statute if it is applied consistently to business callers the same as personal. I note the bad behavior must be done ''knowingly'', a standard found in federal and other laws which address the issue of consent to make contact. This is one reason I harp on the use of Certified Mail for ''shut-ups'', that being the simplest way to get to ''knowing'' without inviting an amnesiac argument later.

Scam callers like this do not need to ''find'', ''get'', or ''have'' your phone number any more than you need to own the numeral '7' before throwing dice to win at a gambling table. This credit reprice scam thread is not so long or lacking for detail that you need to ask what's going on.

WCA is the acronym for Worldwide Commerce Associates. If you are getting their calls, there is a very good chance that YOU INVITED them, even if unwittingly. The next link explains more.

(6093189538) whocalled.us

Mr. Huerta, do you see the huge volume of complaints in this thread in a few days' time? Do you think a scammer is coming back here every day to read this, or cares about what you ''don't appreciate''? No caller, legitimate or not, can somehow divine your ''private number'' from an anonymous comment.

These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice. They are *NOT* direct open channels to the phone bank boiler rooms we comment upon. The magic phrase you want for salesmen (who will listen) is ''Place my number *on* your Do Not Call list''.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

A spam update from a likely fraudulent pharmacy. See other aliases for ''Allen'' ....

whocalled.us (3378930592) - 2012-09-18 08:06:53 UTC - ''Jeff''
whocalled.us (5184898516) - 2012-09-18 08:29:03 UTC - ''Clark''
whocalled.us (5184594550) - 2012-09-18 08:34:17 UTC - ''Anderson''

How is it that ''unknown'', ''Joanne'', ''Catherine'', ''Rick'', ''Andy'', ''Sam'', ''Cathy'', and ''Amandeep'' all have the same story over a 3.5 year period? You know, about what swell peaches with perfect diction are found at the legally compliant NCI call center? These are all shill posts from a single source.

NCI has a long history of collection behavior which is devious, hostile, and illegal. In October 1998 it was the first debt collector to attract a seven-figure penalty from the FTC -- one mil for FDCPA violations. NCI has been named as a Defendant in federal courts about 55 times within the past twelve months. That figure has held steady from the prior five years, with about 4.5 cases per month in 35 states. The cases primarily involve claims under FDCPA, FCRA, and TCPA. Imagine getting sued almost every week of every year, then telling everyone with a straight face how ''legitimate'' you are.


Whether you are called a debtor or some collector thinks you can flush one out, you have rights and options. Most are simple to exercise if you only learn how. The FTC and the CFPB can start you on your homework. See also if your state laws grant additional or stronger rights.

official FTC guidance and staff opinions on the FDCPA, PDF copy of the Act
ftc.gov

CFPB reiteration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
consumerfinance.gov

Sure thing, send me a check for $600 and I'll ''Please Investigate''. If you can find a site like this you can conduct your own research and add to the collective intelligence. These caller database sites don't work until YOU contribute.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Scam callers like this do not need to ''find'', ''get'', or ''have'' your phone number any more than you need to own the numeral '7' before throwing dice to win at a gambling table. Your DNC registration is not a magical shield against all nuisance calls, and you were never promised anything close. File complaints with the FTC and attorneys general.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

The fake jury duty notice is not generally played for laughs. This is apparently a well worn shakedown now enjoying a surge in criminal popularity. The triple-B noted this several weeks ago.

Hello, You Missed Jury Duty! Don’t Worry, It’s a Scam
bbb.org

Snopes has it that the threats of arrest for missing jury duty have been aired by phone and email for at least eight years, and that other variants of phishing schemes using jury duty as a premise have been reported since 2001.

Jury Rigged
snopes.com

The FBI issued a rather detailed and articulate warning in June 2006.

The Verdict: Hang Up
fbi.gov

The Chicago Sun-Times reported in Dec 2011 on a variant in which the scammer sends fake jury questionnaires for data collection. No mention of whether that's by email or dead trees.

Cops warn of jury duty scam
suntimes.com

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:

(2846436572) whocalled.us

''Andrew'' is the same schmuck who spammed this very page a year ago, except then he was not posing as a ''satisfied'' customer. Note that the fool copies wholesale the initial spam from an alleged ''USBid Customer''.

Pam, as discussed here over a year ago, DNC listing would not help you in this case. Surveyors are not held by federal law to the thirteen hour daily calling window imposed on sales and debt collection calls. The more polite firms observe similar hours, and only your state law might say any different.

This is a spam from one person using multiple aliases.

whocalled.us (3378930592) - 2012-09-18 08:06:53 UTC - ''Jeff''
whocalled.us (5184898516) - 2012-09-18 08:29:03 UTC - ''Clark''
whocalled.us (5184594550) - 2012-09-18 08:34:17 UTC - ''Anderson''

This is a spam from one person using multiple aliases.

whocalled.us (3378930592) - 2012-09-18 08:06:53 UTC - ''Jeff''
whocalled.us (5184898516) - 2012-09-18 08:29:03 UTC - ''Clark''
whocalled.us (5184594550) - 2012-09-18 08:34:17 UTC - ''Anderson''

This is a spam from one person using multiple aliases.

whocalled.us (3378930592) - 2012-09-18 08:06:53 UTC - ''Jeff''
whocalled.us (5184898516) - 2012-09-18 08:29:03 UTC - ''Clark''
whocalled.us (5184594550) - 2012-09-18 08:34:17 UTC - ''Anderson''

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:

(2846436572) whocalled.us

Go?

Mr. Wright, all seven people before you understand something that you don't. Your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Jackie, the credit reprice scammers call every phone line with a warm pulse, often through spoofed numbers. Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem and why the credit reprice scammers are hard to control:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

Then your boss has procedures which are counter to the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Nothing in that or the TCPA says that a third party to a former subscriber cannot get a number placed on the internal no-call list which US businesses are *required* to maintain. ''Cops and generals'' will be powerless, but calling a consumer lawyer is a valid response if you can't keep your autodialers under control. ''Work with me'' or you will get ME paid.


Telemarketing Sales Rule
business.ftc.gov

Telephone Consumer Protection Act
the-dma.org
fcc.gov [PDF]

This is the fake PC tech scam. See this thread:

(2846436572) whocalled.us

Kathy, you might want to expand your complaints to the FTC and attorneys general, and then to the scam call source if possible. The absence of Telemarketing Sales Rule enforcement is a popular myth. The problem now is that cheap VOIP service and Caller ID spoofing were not available as tools of concealment to phone scammers when the DNC program was established. The FTC is well aware of this, and will be inviting ideas for a technological defense to be aired at the Autumn summit announced in July.

Agency Announces Robocall Summit to be Held October 18 in Washington, DC
ftc.gov

My comments from two years ago in a thread linked below fills in some background, and the ''Stop Tom'' site gives you an idea of the current messy state of the problem with security gear hawkers.

(4014010125) whocalled.us
stoptomwithhomeprotection.wordpress.com

Mary, no one else reading this page can ''please have them stop calling''. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. The trashy sales callers for alarm systems and personal alert gadgets are not willing to obey your demands anyway.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

My comments from two years ago in a thread linked below fills in some background, and the ''Stop Tom'' site gives you an idea of the current messy state of the problem with security gear hawkers.

(4014010125) whocalled.us
stoptomwithhomeprotection.wordpress.com

Greg, every call in creation is ''reported as a DNCL violation'' by you. The following URL links to the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Are you going to pay me ''IMMEDIATELY'' to investigate for you? These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice. It doesn't work if YOU don't contribute.

The 800Notes thread points to a debt collector. The US and Canadian provinces have their own laws for addressing nuisance calls and other bad behavior from collectors. Here are notes on the federal rules:

ftc.gov
consumerfinance.gov

Ms. Brown, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Patty, LLL, and Christensen: What makes you think a scammer cares about your demands? The ''opt-out'' provision is made only to give the illusion of legitimacy. Your keypresses only confirm a live number where people are likely to respond to the scammers. You both need to see my prior comment.

Good grief ... You have no idea how this site or a no-call list works with a demand like that.

No one reading this page can ''please put the owner of this phone number on'' anything. Your caller is not going to dutifully study random forum complaints and cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. The magic phrase you want for salesmen and many other caller types is ''Place my number *on* your Do Not Call list''. You don't go around placing anyone else's number but your own on a state or federal or internal DNC registry. To do precisely what you've asked is frankly absurd.

These forums are for call recipients to share their experience and optionally offer advice. They are *NOT* direct or private channels to the phone bank boiler rooms we comment upon. If you can provide a business name and/or details on the caller's stated purpose, you might get a more helpful response.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Angry K.R.: What on Earth makes you think Unlisted or Non-Published equals bulletproof? Your number is not advertised but it's not a state secret, either. The thirteen hour period you describe, by the way, is the default federal call window for sales calls and debt collectors. Non-sales callers don't have the same restrictions, but the polite ones tend to keep the same hours. A less polite one may need a ''cease communication'' notice via USPS Certified with return card, since you cannot prove your verbal or emailed demands were received.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

sssiiighhh .... An example of a ''criminal offense'' would be mugging you for your wallet or getting sliced in a knife fight. When was the last time you were physically assaulted by a ringing phone?

It is not a civil offense or any other kind when a caller reaches you which *IS ALREADY EXEMPT* from scrubbing the federal Do Not Call registry. Here's the link to the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

We're in for another few weeks of political speech and fundraising calls. Losing your cool won't end a nuisance call campaign. A polite call source will take the phone number you want added to an internal no-call list. A less polite one may need a ''cease communication'' notice via USPS Certified with return card.

800Notes: 13 reports since Nov 2009
WhoCallsMe: 02 reports since Apr 2010
PhoneOwner: nothing
... and of course your ONE comment here

That hardly indicates being ''reported MANY times''. Those reports don't say very much, either, apart from fax attempts to health care centers. The someone who ''needs to do something about it'' is each call recipient, starting with gathering better intel. That might mean (gasp) actually calling back or (choke) taking some initiative like seeing if the carrier Nuvox can help.


FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

JJ, here's how the FTC has ''duped'' you while taking action to control illegal nuisance callers. Hope you have a few free hours to read it all.

Enforcement of the Do Not Call Registry (summary, links)
ftc.gov

Enforcement Action Announcements - Alphabetical
ftc.gov

Press Releases - Chronological
ftc.gov

It's unrelated to this thread, but here's an action against a credit reprice scammer:

Jury Convicts Woman In $25 Million Nationwide Telemarketing Fraud Scheme
justice.gov


800Notes comments tend to point to marketing calls from or affiliated with DirecTV. If you are their customer, you have an Established Business Relationship which exempts sales calls related to the TV provider. You have to remove permission to call yourself. ALL OF THIS is explained to you if you take the few minutes to review the FTC material you are prompted to see by the DNC registration site. You cannot be ''scammed'' or ''duped'' before you have done your due diligence to actually comprehend the terms of a service you sign onto.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Randy, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Schmidt, you have a fake PC tech scammer. See this thread:

(2846436572) whocalled.us

Judging from prior comments, this may be a Scam Crop Rotator as I call them.

Ms. Wood, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller. Pounding your all-caps keyboard here is not getting the job done. The magic phrase is NOT ''take me off'', but ''Add this number to your Do Not Call list''.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

Ms. Grandy, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

You and John also don't know how to ..... READ ..... BEFORE ..... YOU ..... POST .....

Bryan, your caller does not maintain this site or this web page. Your caller is not going to dutifully study random forum complaints and cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments. You will not get compliance with your orders until you deliver them *directly* to your caller.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

The following URL links to the FTC FAQ page which the DNC site repeatedly invited you all to read before you registered your numbers. See items 28 through 32.

Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
ftc.gov

Naeb, you cannot ''force'' a non-sales caller to obey the Telemarketing Sales Rule, which the DNC registry aids in enforcement. Have you any idea how stupid that sounds? Moreover, you simply cannot have an ''all or nothing'' no-call provision without denying free speech rights, first responder and emergency contacts, surveys mandated by Congress such as from the Census Bureau, and many other quite innocent forms of uninvited phone calls.

The same Rule mentioned above does give you an option with charity calls, however. You are likely to find the calls are placed by a commercial fundraiser, such as Associated Community Services, Dial America, Donor Services Group, Harris, InfoCision, MDS, and TeleFund. As commercial entities, these hired call centers are expected to honor an internal no-call list and add any number upon request. Break that order, the FTC declares, and ''the telemarketer may be subject to a fine of up to $16,000.'' They are also covered to a point by other regulations for telepests, so you can kvetch about abandoned calls, bot calls to mobile phones, and so on.

In a comment from Jan 2012 linked below, find the simple steps I took to rid myself of a major pain boiler room by politely rubbing its face in federal laws. You will note that I never rely on verbal cease-communication demands.

(9018819984) whocalled.us

Kent, what makes you think that a South Asian scammer controls this web page, or bothers to read it, or cares about your rights enough to obey your demands? Besides which, your caller cannot magically determine which numbers should not be called based on anonymous comments.

... and people, please don't start slapping up your own phone numbers here where yet more scammers can find them.

FCC notes on various ways to combat nuisance calls (at least from legitimate sources)
fcc.gov

It's the credit reprice scam, Ms. Jones, made (in)famous a couple years ago by their prerecorded mascots ''Rachel'' and ''Heather''.

Here's a link to a site which helps explain the scope of the problem:
telemarketerspam.wordpress.com

Prior discussions on this site can be seen for these numbers: 4029820479, 4070009876, 7142445025, 8133557202, 8125894178