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 not 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 this number. It was an Indian guy who called himself Alex. He told me that he was calling from the Department of Legal Services. He said that "criminal action" was being taken on me today. He put me on hold and then told me that the person I needed to talk to was unavailable and he would have to call me back. I called back the number and "Alex" answered - "Department of Legal Affairs" and I hung up. He called me back and said "someone just called me from this number". That is your first clue that it is a scam, as companies wouldn't do that. I asked where this department was located and he hung up on me. A couple of hours later, Alex called again and I spoke to the person who could tell me about the charges against me. This man (also Indian) read all of the charges against me which were all tax related and sounded awful. Then he said :"if you don't take care of this they will come and put you in a jail" I said "OK" and he said :so do you want me to send the police to get you?" I said fine and he hung up on me.
I received a call from 3474180359. A man named Danny said he was from the Department of Legal Affairs. He asked if I have a criminal attorney. When my reply was no, he said he would read me the charges and I could ask questions at the end. The charges were federal criminal charges related to fraud and tax evasion. He stated that I would be arrested and detained for 6 months, my accounts would be frozen, and my assets seized. He was nearly unintelligible due to a heavy Indian accent. When I stated that I owed no back taxes and that I needed to verify the legitimacy of the call, he stated that there was no need to verify anything and that the police would be arresting me soon. This is a scam!
I received a call from 3474180359. A man named Danny said he was from the Department of Legal Affairs. He asked if I have a criminal attorney. When my reply was no, he said he would read me the charges and I could ask questions at the end. The charges were federal criminal charges related to fraud and tax evasion. He stated that I would be arrested and detained for 6 months, my accounts would be frozen, and my assets seized. He was nearly unintelligible due to a heavy Indian accent. When I stated that I owed no back taxes and that I needed to verify the legitimacy of the call, he stated that there was no need to verify anything and that the police would be arresting me soon.
Just received a call from 347-418-0359- also stating he was from the IRS. Heavy Indian accent- said all the same things people have stated above- jail, so on and so forth. I am calling my local authorities to alert them of this scam and give them this #- I would suggest you all do the same.