Oct 31, 2014
Unfortunately the FBI doesn't seem to be interested in debt collection fraud, because it's too hard to prove a criminal case. The bogus debts are laundered through so many shell companies that no one can say where they originated. The collector probably has a good idea that the debts are fraudulent, but if challenged he can claim that he was duped by someone farther up the chain.
It's much easier to prove a civil case, and that could be prosecuted by the FTC, CPFB, or state attorney general. Since this "local office" case appears to involve caller ID fraud and illegally calling cell phones, the FCC has a stake in the matter as well. Unfortunately, again, all of these agencies are underfunded and it takes literally thousands of complaints before they do anything. The enforcement of the debt collection and telephone harassment laws has been left to private attorneys, so about all you can do is track down the perpetrator and file an individual lawsuit.
The really sad part is that some people are so desperate to rebuild their credit history that they will believe what some stranger tells them on the phone. Never mind that the call is coming from a spoofed number, or that a simple internet search on the company shows hundreds of complaints. As long as a few people are this naive, the rest of us will be dealing with these calls for a long time to come.