They are not attorneys. They are debt collectors. They will pretend to be a law firm in order to scare you. They want you to give them information about this person. Basically they want you to do their job for them. Ignore them. Block their calls.
Fraudulent or Zombie Debt Collectors—Things to Know
If you have received a call stating:
1. You have defrauded a financial institution
2. You owe an unpaid payday loan
3. You have a warrant due to an unpaid loan
5. You will receive a court summons
6. Authorities are coming to arrest you
7. Anything similar to above,
a. Do not give them any information or verify any information for them
b. Tell them you know they are a scam operating illegally and that you are filing a complaint with the appropriate authorities
* File a complaint with the FBI on their Internet Crime webpage http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
* File a complaint with the Attorney General for the state you live in
The more information and complaints there are, the better the chance of getting these criminals to stop (or at least reduce the frequency).
They continue to bother you, tell them you are going to the police to make a complaint of extortion.
Fraudulent or Zombie Debt Collectors—Things to Know
If you have received a call stating:
1. You have defrauded a financial institution
2. You owe an unpaid payday loan
3. You have a warrant due to an unpaid loan
5. You will receive a court summons
6. Authorities are coming to arrest you
7. Anything similar to above,
a. Do not give them any information or verify any information for them
b. Tell them you know they are a scam operating illegally and that you are filing a complaint with the appropriate authorities
* File a complaint with the FBI on their Internet Crime webpage http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
* File a complaint with the Attorney General for the state you live in
The more information and complaints there are, the better the chance of getting these criminals to stop (or at least reduce the frequency).
They continue to bother you, tell them you are going to the police to make a complaint of extortion.
Fraudulent, we ALL understand , for for the uninformed, such as myself, what is a " Zombie" debt collector? I would be able to recognize a Zombie if I saw one, due to all the commercialization, but would not be able to point out a zombie debt collector, if I saw, or heard from one. Seriously.
Call themselves of the office of Cohen and Phillips. They tend to vary the name of their organization. They are not a law firm, they are debt collectors with a long history of shady tactics. They specialize in calling relatives of the deceased and try to get the relatives to pay the debts of the deceased even if there were no assets in the deceased person's estate. Usually the person they call has no interest in the estate or the deceased at all. Usually just a distant relative. They pretend to be a law office, which can be confusing because there is a Phillips and Cohen law office in Washington DC which is an upstanding firm. zThe debt collectors Cohen and Phillips rely on confusion and ignorance on the part of the person they are calling.
Don't talk to them, don't give them any information. If you are the official executor of administrator of the deceased's estate, then demand a debt validation letter by US mail. Then it is up to the executor or administrator to determine if the debt is valid and whether or not to pay it. State laws vary.
Otherwise, tell 'em to go to hell. Tell 'em loudly and block their calls.
http://www.phillips-cohen.com/
1002 Justison Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
toll free phone: 888.608.1766
fax: 302.368.0970
A "Zombie" debt collector is one who attempts to collect a non-existent debt or a debt that is barred by the statute of limitations. Or barred for some other reason.
This Cohen and Phillips is a zombie collector, it is constantly attempting to collect money on non-existent or non-enforceable debts by cold-calling relatives of a person who has died owing money. but without any estate.
Even though they know the person they call has no legal obligation to pay the debts of the deceased, they call them anyway.
Basically they are trying to collect money by going around the state probate laws. They sometimes threaten the person they are calling with "forcing" a probate proceeding. And go around telling people that they can "probate" a deceased person's debt.
Which is stupid. When you die, if there are no assets in your estate, your debts (in most cases) die with you.