Collins, calling from a number in California, identified himself vaguely but delivered a very specific message.

"He told me I owed him $5,000, and if I didn't pay right away, the law was going to come and arrest me," said Hocutt, who lives in the Johnston County community of Kenly.

Hocutt, 28, who puts up aluminum siding and runs a mobile detailing business, told Collins he was full of baloney and hung up.

But one thing troubled Hocutt: Collins knew his Social Security number.

In March or April, Collins called again.

Again, he demanded payment on some fictitious debt. Again, he threatened Hocutt with criminal charges and other outrageous actions to scare him into coughing up the cash.

Again, Hocutt told him to get lost.

But Collins kept calling. In the weeks and months since, Hocutt estimates Collins and his colleagues have called hundreds of times -- yes, hundreds -- from numbers on the Eastern Seaboard.

The callers not only referenced Hocutt's Social Security number, but his address and his bank account and loan information. They began talking about Hocutt's family members.

Collins even taunted Hocutt by saying he wanted to have sex with Hocutt's daughter Kaitlyn, who happens to be 14 months old.

That's when Hocutt lost his temper.

"If I could hunt him down, I'd kill him," the protective father said.

Instead, Hocutt started calling the authorities.

He talked to everyone from the U.S. Secret Service on down to the Johnston County Sheriff's Office.

Hocutt filed a complaint with the state Attorney General's Office, which has made consumer fraud a top priority. Visit www.ncdoj.gov for a list of scams, and tips.

From the FBI, which has issued an alert on scamsters such as this "Collins" guy, Hocutt learned about Web sites that allow you to type in the number of an unknown caller and swap information. These Web sites include whocallsme.com and 800notes.com.

Hocutt punched in the most recent number Collins called from. He soon discovered he was not the only person Ron Collins had been harassing.

Others, from across the country, described calls similar to the ones Hocutt had been receiving for months on his cell.

One person posted a public service announcement from the Florida Attorney General's Office.

The Florida AG's Office got a $1.3 million judgment last year against a collection agency that was using tactics similar to Collins'.

The office offered common sense tips including this most basic one:

Anyone threatening you with criminal action for an unpaid debt is a scam artist. Do not pay.

Jennifer Canada, a spokeswoman with N.C. Attorney General's Office offered two more: Never give out personal information on the phone. And ask the callers to put their requests in writing.

There is one hope: The more people who register their complaints the more likely the authorities will be able to nail them.

So if a guy calling himself Ron Collins rings you up and starts a harangue, call him a jerk and tell him Brian Hocutt -- and the authorities -- are looking for him.