They call claiming they are "Alex Johnson" or "Sean Anderson" an "officer of the law" with some sort of indian accent and that there will be police officers coming to arrest me with all these bogus charges against me on a phony payday loan that I supposedly had... they even had names of friends that I have previously used as referrences on other things & my ssn. They've even called me back after I hang up calling me a "b*tch" and "stupid lady... that's all you are is a stupid worthless lady" and one even said "i will track you down and kick your a**" I called the FTC and our state's Attorney General and they both said it's a scam and the only thing I can do is change my number or hang up as soon as I realize it's them and not to give them money. They also gave me a list of information that would help determine the difference between a real debt collector and a scammer. A debt collector HAS to send you a written notification with in 5 business days of the first contact. Also, a debt collecting agency and officer CANNOT make ANY sort of threats against you whatsoever... not even to garnish wages. If they do so and it is reported, they can receive fines starting at $10,000. My husband is in the military so we can't just change our phone numbers, there are way too many people we would have to notify, so we contacted our cell phone providers and downloaded a phone number blocking program and add those numbers to the list as they call. They stop calling for a while but eventually find a number that isn't on the list.
Keep on callin' idiot...
I don't answer numbers that don't show BOTH name and number.
After reading some of these posts, I guess it's good I don't.
FWIW:
They NEVER leave a message, but they do stay on the line for a short time while the voicemail is recording. They are in a somewhat noisy room, sounds like a call center because you hear other people talking on the phone in the backround.