This number called and scammed me out of $300 dollars. A woman called saying my brother would go to jail if a security on his bond was not paid because he was labeled a flight risk. She used the names Vanessa Garcia and Trey Tate. She claimed these individuals were her accountants in Nevada but that she lived in Texas. That's where my money went. The last of my money for my electric bill. It's now late and a few days before termination. I have no way to pay this bill now. If you happen to be reading this and are the person responsible and are having a good laugh take a look in the mirror. The face you see is responsible for a 4 year old and 7 year old becoming homeless in a few days. A condition of my rent is to keep my bills paid. You have a nice sleep tonight and wonder what kind of person you are who could do that to two small children.
If you paid by CC or debit card see if you can go to the bank that handles the cards and have the transactions refereed for fraud. If you paid by untraceable means, at least make a complaint o to the people who sold you the financial instrument. No one is arrested for ordinary civil debts in the US. We do not have debtors prisons. Make sure your report them.
If you have the name and address of the entity you paid the money to, please post it here.
Just because someone on the phone calling you says you owe a debt does not mean you actually owe it.
If a voice on the telephone claims you owe a debt:
1. Demand the person give you his or her name, company name, and address
2. Demand a debt validation letter by US mail. E-mail no good.
3. Do not pay the collection agent or anyone else a dime until the debt is validated
Of course they won’t do this, no scammer ever will, so simply ignore them and block their calls.
If they are bothering you, report them:
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0149-debt-collection (Threatening civil proceedings with no intent to follow through, or threatening criminal process in order to collect a civil debt is a violation of the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.)
This is also somewhat similar to the "grandparent scam" where someone calls pretending to be a grandson in jail and bail money is needed and they direct the money to be sent in a certain way. This could be a variation on that scam.