Had the same experience. Caller identified themselves as Officer Adam Davis, had a heavy accent. Said he was from "The Tax Department" but would not say which one. Would not give his ID number and said he was in Washington, DC although the number showed that it was from Seattle. Called repeatedly and I told them that I called the local Sheriff's department. In each call he said, "Enjoy yourself in jail". Never would say why they were calling.
P.S. Tax departments first send letters if there is a problem and would not scream at citizens.
This is a long summary, but you need to read it carefully if you think you are being threatened by a debt collector.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) includes statements such as this:
* Every collector must send you a written “validation notice” telling you how much money you owe within five days after they first contact you. This notice also must include the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money, and how to proceed if you don’t think you owe the money. ["Written" means snailmailed ... not emailed or texted]
* Debt collectors may NOT
- repeatedly use the phone to annoy someone.
- falsely claim that they are attorneys or government representatives
- falsely claim that you have committed a crime
- falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit reporting company
- say you will be arrested if you don’t pay your debt
- say they’ll seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so
- communicate with consumers at their place of employment after being told this is unacceptable or prohibited by the employer.
- say that legal action will be taken against you, if doing so would be illegal or if they don’t intend to take the action
- use a false company name
- take or threaten to take your property unless it can be done legally;
The debt collector may not garnish your wages unless there is a court order to do so.
+ Many Federal benefits (including Social Security Benefits) are exempt from garnishment
You have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. If you win, the judge can require the collector to pay you for any damages you can prove you suffered because of the illegal collection practices, like lost wages and medical bills. The judge can require the debt collector to pay you up to $1,000,
Report any problems you have with a debt collector to your state Attorney General’s office, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
I have gotten a couple of calls from this number with the same 'Have a Safe Trip to Jail' message on the machine. I called back after looking up the number on the internet and reading the other people's comments that have received this type of call. I also checked the IRS website and read about scams that the IRS warned about.
I called back and every question they asked, I responded, 'Go F**k yourself'. When they asked for my attorney's number, I said it was 1-800- Go F%$k yourself. The 'agent' said that he couldn't believe that was a real number....REALLY, YOU THINK?. Anyways after a few more of my responses... he yelled the same back at me and hung up...
Needless to say, no more calls and haven't been arrested yet.
Had the same experience. Caller identified themselves as Officer Adam Davis, had a heavy accent. Said he was from "The Tax Department" but would not say which one. Would not give his ID number and said he was in Washington, DC although the number showed that it was from Seattle. Called repeatedly and I told them that I called the local Sheriff's department. In each call he said, "Enjoy yourself in jail". Never would say why they were calling.
P.S. Tax departments first send letters if there is a problem and would not scream at citizens.