This is a collection agency. They will call and talk in fake accents and tell you that they have your name as a job reference and ask you to call them back. They even tell you the name of the person who put down as a reference but it's always a false person.
Got several calls and returned a call this morning. This is *NOT* a collection agency.
The woman I spoke to claimed to be calling regarding an unpaid balance on a Visa card from 1999 through a bank called "Providian". A simple Google search reveals that there is no such bank ... this bank name is fabricated and is used by phishers to dupe people into releasing valuable information such as credit card numbers.
The woman claimed I owed $690. I asked her to identify the company she worked for and she said simply "Chris Adams", with the implication that I should know who that is (this is a common phishing tactic). I asked who "Chris Adams" is and she said "That is who I work for." She was only interested in getting a debit card number to "pay off the balance".
I told her I was suspicious, that I work in computer security and that she was behaving exactly like a phisher. She pretended to be unfamiliar with the term and tried to laugh it off telling me I was "crazy" (another common phishing tactic). She tried to laugh it off but I got the impression she knew I was on to her. When I refused to give her any numbers she said she'd have to report this amount as income to the IRS and I ended the call.
A collection agency will identify itself, as will a law firm. They will contact you through correspondence, and if you insist on not paying anything until you get a formal request in writing, they will be fine with that. If you absolutely refuse, they may mention that it will affect your credit rating or that they will be forced to pursue further legal action.
A guy named Drew Long called from this number stating he need to speak to my husband regarding some paperwork he filed last week. He gave me an 877-219-4760 to call him back on. He said he worked for Chris Adams. I have no idea what they want. So i looked up the two numbers , the one he called from and the one he gave me to call.
Someone tried to call my husbands ex wife and said that they needed to speak to him and would not give them information other then his birthday and they also said that they knows he drives a gold truck. Also, my husband and ex have been separated for 15 years. I just want this to stop. So does his ex wife. When I tried to call the numbers back because I have a private # they said # disconnected.