I received this early morning a very concerning message, with some looking "legal" papers, showing my ...full SSN(!! ), and saying that I owe almost $900!, plus attorney fees, etc. I Called the number. and someone with a strong Indian accent tried to convince me that o owe. All this money and if I refuse to pay in 24 hours, I will be served with Court papers! ! I am so stressed, I am cardiac I can not work.!!
This is a criminal extortion scam operating out of India. They are making the calls utilizing VOIP and the names of legitimate firms to make it appear the calls are originating from within the US. There is NO "company" or "debt" and you will NOT be arrested. They are harvesting and/or buying consumers' personal identifying information from unscrupulous websites like the one you may have filled out an application with, and you need to do whatever you can to protect yourself. This includes: Notifying the FTC: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/, placing fraud alerts with all three credit bureaus, notifying your bank and employer and letting these criminals know you are aware they are attempting to extort money for a non-existent debt and have alerted the authorities.
ABC News released an investigative report on this scam in June. The FTC has indicted one of its ringleaders for criminal fraud:
Omg today i got a email saying i owe money for a loan given to me july 2012 on my checking account that didnt open until sep 2012 male with a strong accient but they had my correct ssn which scared the hell out of me
i paid them nothing