I too have been getting calls from the 404-000-3849 number with the same voicemail. I called the 888-724-4111 number, woman answered, "how can I help you". I asked for Lucy Free who left the voicemail. Put on hold and woman named Tracy Scott came on the line. It sounded like the same person. She gave me the same speel as listed above - threats, fraud, etc. I told her to send me some information, name, company, who they work for, who they represent, etc. She said I'd get an email in 10 minutes, that was yesterday and no email yet. Any idea or info who to report this too?
This morning they called the front desk at my office. I told the receptionist to tell them I'd call them later. I called them at 4pm their time and got an answering machine. Seemed strange to me. I left them a fairly explicit message not to call anymore until I get something in writing about who, what, when, where, etc.
I received a threatening call at work yesterday from 888-724-4111 claiming that I owed Platinum B. Services $299.10. They had all of my personal information (SSN, bank account number, etc.). A lady by the name of Tracy Scott said she would fax me something. She did send the fax, but there was no number of where the fax was sent from. I took out a loan with Platinum B. Services back in 04 for $100 and paid it back the next month $160 in full. Now I am received this call. I knew I did not owe the company anything and told the lady that she could have me arrested that I had good friends that would post my bail. She told me that I had till 1:00 to pay. I did not pay anything and of course have not heard anything back from them.
I received a call from this 404-000-3849 number today. They didn't leave a message, so I googled the number. I have only had a cell phone for a few months and no one has this number except my boss, my credit is uber clean, and I am getting pretty tired of the myriad of annoying calls from numbers I don't recognize. I never answer if I don't recognize the caller and I always look up the number to find it associated with this fake collections or headhunter nonsense.
Anyone have any tactics on a voicemail message I can record that will deter them from calling again? And who are the people who fall for these calls and keep these people in business?
Here's everything you need to know about States Predisposition Services/FSM Group/Bass & Associates/Kirby & Associates (or whatever name they're going by this week).
The people behind States Predisposition Services are crooks in the truest sense of the word. They appear to be associated with an infamous debt collection scam in Florida that goes by several names: Ellis Crosby & Associates/Bass & Associates/Jackson Phillips & Associates. These debt collectors are currently being sued by the Florida Attorney General for multiple violations of debt collection laws. Check out this excerpt from a recent article in the Jacksonville Times-Union newspaper, and note the last sentence:
"Among the most prominent complaints: Claiming or implying to be attorneys or government agents, threatening arrest or legal action, claiming or collecting exorbitant debt amounts and using harassing or intimidation techniques such as repeated phone calls or calls to a debtor's place of work. In July, Attorney General Bill McCollum's office filed a $1.3 million lawsuit against the firm - also known as Jackson Phillips & Associates - and earlier this week , state attorneys won the first round of the battle in a Jacksonville courtroom by defeating the agency's motion to dismiss the case. A motion to shut down the firm while the case proceeds will be heard in January. The state is also working with Georgia officials to determine whether Bass is trying to escape Florida prosecution by moving across the state line to Folkston, Ga. Records at Folkston City Hall show that a business license was issued in June to Bass officials Frank and Evelyn Jackson to establish a collection agency called States Predisposition Services Inc."
Read the entire article here: http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/120107/met_221875639.shtml
Here is these crooks' latest hideout:
STATES PRE-DISPOSITION SERVICES,INC.
1204 F SOUTH SECOND STREET
FOLKSTON, GA 31537
1-800-918-3849
More information on them:
http://www.budhibbs.com/debtcollectorpages/ellis_crosby_and_associates.htm
Anyone being contacted by these grifters may want to do the following:
1) Give them nothing, and tell them nothing about yourself other than that you're reported them to federal and state authorities. (Once you tell them that, they'll probably cuss you out, threaten you and then hang up on you.)
2) File a complaint online with the Federal Trade Commission here: https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01
3) Report this call to Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum at http://myfloridalegal.com/contact.nsf/contact?Open&Section=Attorney_General
4) Report all the same information to the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs at http://consumer.georgia.gov/00/channel_modifi ... 5687815,00.html
5) File a complaint with your state's attorney general. The contact info for each state's attorney general is at www.naag.org
6) File a complaint online with the FBI at http://tips.fbi.gov
7) File a complaint with your local police.
8) Check out these websites for more information on protecting yourself against criminal debt collectors:
Consumer Advocate Bud Hibbs - http://www.budhibbs.com/First.htm
National Associate of Consumer Advocates - http://members.naca.net/findanattorney.php
Warren & Vullings, LLP - http://www.fairdebtlawyers.com/
My Fair Debt - http://www.myfairdebt.com/
Consumer Counsel Group - http://www.consumercounselgroup.com/
Don't let these criminals at Bass/Jackson Phillips/States Predisposition/FSM victimize you. Contact the authorities and help put this crime syndicate out of business. Good luck.