The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, is warning consumers to be on the alert for scam artists posing as debt collectors. It may be hard to tell the difference between a legitimate debt collector and a fake one. Sometimes a fake collector may even have some of your personal information, like a bank account number. A caller may be a fake debt collector if he:
is seeking payment on a debt for a loan you do not recognize;
refuses to give you a mailing address or phone number;
asks you for personal financial or sensitive information; or
exerts high pressure to try to scare you into paying, such as threatening to have you arrested or to report you to a law enforcement agency.
If you think that a caller may be a fake debt collector:
Ask the caller for his name, company, street address, and telephone number. Tell the caller that you refuse to discuss any debt until you get a written "validation notice." The notice must include the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor you owe, and your rights under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
If a caller refuses to give you all of this information, do no
t pay! Paying a fake debt collector will not always make them go away. They may make up another debt to try to get more money from you.
Stop speaking with the caller. If you have the caller's address, send a letter demanding that the caller stop contacting you, and keep a copy for your files. By law, real debt collectors must stop calling you if you ask them to in writing.
Do not give the caller personal financial or other sensitive information. Never give out or confirm personal financial or other sensitive information like your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number unless you know whom you're dealing with. Scam artists, like fake debt collectors, can use your information to commit identity theft – charging your existing credit cards, opening new credit card, checking, or savings accounts, writing fraudulent checks, or taking out loans in your name.
Contact your creditor. If the debt is legitimate – but you think the collector may not be – contact your creditor about the calls. Share the information you have about the suspicious calls and find out who, if anyone, the creditor has authorized to collect the debt.
Report the call. Contact the FTC and your state Attorney General's office with information about suspicious callers. Many states have their own debt collection laws in addition to the federal FDCPA. Your Attorney General's office can help you determine your rights under your state's law.
I got a call from 225-360-3472. Mark Lawson was looking for Richard Cooper to call him back "right away." "Don't ignore this message" or have his attorney call. Anyway just like a different number from California that called me yesterday, "Mark Lawson" read from a script and he sounded like he was from India. He also said that number was a "hotline to his division." I've notified friends and family through social media that this is a scam and not to call the number back.
A man called from this number and left a message on my machine that this call was time sensitive and that I needed to call him asap or have my lawyer call. It was just like the call I got from California--sounded like the same man. The man was definately not from the United States. He also made the comment "May God have Mercy on Me"? The number showed up as Out of Area and not a business--although he claimed to be a Sr. Attorney by the name of Mike. I reported this call to my local police department. When they called they hung up the phone.
This is the second go around with "Michael Thompson" the first time they were saying I needed to give them money so they wouldn't sue me, I called the police and was informed it was a scam. Now they are calling me again at my job and telling me I committed fraud and that I am going to jail if I don't pay. I told them they were ridiculous and I was calling the police so they proceeded to tell me they would call the police as well and that I would be picked up at my job within 24 to 72 hours and then hung up on me. I don't expect to hear from them again and am taking all steps to make sure I don't. I am attaching some links to look up in you state to put a stop to these people.
ok today I received a call from this same number , claimed to be lawyer repeated my personal info to me which i denied anyhow. ATT said the call which appears to be coming from overseas because of the + in the front of the number but it is actually coming from a small area outside baton rouge Louisiana it is a scam report to your attorney general in your state they claimed to be with law firm of kitt and phillips but when i called back they kept hanging up on me.