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.
Got a called from a woman named Lisa Wallace. She said she wanted to help avoid legal action. She would not answer my questions about what company she is with and only responded to my questions by asking me questions. This is not the behavior of a legit debt collection company. It is a scam.
She called me too. Saying is was going to be issued a "bench arrant" for avoiding her. I called the number back, they are Micheal, Micheal, Green & Associates. I have my attorney working on this for me. The would refuse to give me any information with out the first 5 digits of my ssn. What collection agency asks for that info? Normally its the last 4 digits. Humm... anyway, I'll get to the bottom of this when my attorney gets back to me.
Got a call from this number, caller said his name was Daniel Crawford. He wanted my son, said my son gave the number as a contact number. He refused to tell me what it was about, said my son could get all the information from the 877 number he gave me. I found out later that he had also called each of my daughter's and my daughter's mother-in-law! All of those calls he said that my son had provided their numbers as contact numbers. I don't even know my daughter's mother-in-law's number! He advised me that my son needed to contact them right away or a bench warrant would be issued within 24-48 hours. If it is legit, it would be a civil matter and you can't be arrested for a civil matter. This company is really pissing me off.
Also called me and I asked why I had not been notified in writing..Person response."Good Bye"..I can not find a legite Michael,Michael, Green and associates on file
Just got a call from this # - Valerie Jones saying she is trying to serve a bench warrant and that I've been avoiding her (this is the first time I've gotten a call from this #) - if I want to avoid this warrant being issued to contact 877-502-5753...BLAH BLAH BLAH!