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.
They called asked for my attorney of record in a voicemail while saying their name was Daniel. They claimed to call from Fraud division and did not mention what company they were representing. They said that there was a complaint filed against me and to call immediately. I actually do have a close friend that is an attorney. I had her to call back because we thought these people were hilarious and knew it was something shady. A person claiming to be the receptionist answered and claimed that she was calling from San Antonio even though the number is out of Ohio. My friend stated who she was and that she was representing me. She asked this chick if she was aware that several people had reported them for fraud and asked if she cared to comment on that. She said send us a letter. We asked for her address and she hung up. We called her back and she picked up the phone and hung up again. Do harass these people! They are evil SCAMMERS and some have actually fallen for their BS and have sent them money. They are not legitimate and all you have to do is ask more than 2-3 questions and they get frustrated and hang up. The only thing that makes them not sound believable is the fact that they have an American accent, but everything else sounded stupid and shady!
Hate getting these dumb scammers calling me. Said his name was Henry Thompson and I have a fraud case against me. Find it funny he never used my name in the voicemail. I was not born yesterday and will not be answering this number. The only thing that makes them sound legit is the American accent, everything else is super shady.