Call at WORK from this number asking about a contracted person who does not work in our office. Man was "James Franklin" but had such a strong Indian accent that I could not understand him. A lot of background noise as well- I was practically shouting into the receiver. James said he was from some Legal Investigation Department. I knew it was suspicious because the call appeared as 347-960-0616 and THEN as 0000000000000 on my caller ID screen!
Consumers across the country report that they're getting telephone calls from people trying to collect on loans the consumers never received or on loans they did receive but for amounts they do not owe. Others are receiving calls from people seeking to recover on loans consumers received but where the creditors never authorized the callers to collect for them. So what's the story?
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.>
same thing happened to me at work but when they could not reach me they threatened my co-worker. Said it was an extremely important legal matter and that i need to call Zach Bolden right back immediately or there will be an officer here to pick me up.
Wow, very well written info and advice, Alfalfa!!!! Thank you very much for giving this detailed explanation and plan of action against these callers. EVERYONE: YOU DO NOT OWE MONEY TO THESE CALLERS! It is illegal to threaten legal action and they readily do this on your voicemail, on the first call. It is highly unlikely that a legitimate collection agency would do this unless they mean to take legal action.
A voice message from a man with a very strong accent, probably from India claiming to be David Brown (LOL, sorry, good ol basic American name), anyway he allegaed to be from the Law Office of PCS...couldn't make him out, but he said something that started with a "P" Credit Services. Asked for me or my attorney. Too bad I didn't answer...because my air-horn was ready!
This is a collection agency called PCS out of New York. They are a collection service that uses many tactics to get you to respond. They call your work. They call your home, They even call your relatives. They have bought your information from a debt you owe because they have all your information including social security number, work information and so on.
By law they can only call your work once after being told not to call anymore the calls must stop. If they do not stop call your local police department and file a case report for telephone harassment. That is just about the only thing that does work. Your employer only need to tell them to stop calling once. They can be fined up to 1000 dollars per call after that once a police report is filed and a trap is placed on the line to record their calls. You need the service number from the police for that.
Telephone harassment is a crime and annoying calls to a place of business can effect your employers business and commerce and the law does not tolerate it and will pursue it once you call them..
Yes, these people have a job to do too but violating the law is not the way to accomplish it. Don't put up with these annoying calls. Call your local police agency and file a report, it works. They will call these people and tell them to stop calling also.