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.>
The Person calling says his name is Jeff Morris and/or Alex Rodriguez and he calls constantly...over and over and over. He cusses and uses very bad language. This needs to be stopped!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
calls and asks for employee who was terminated. He demands that I give him her contact information which I don't have. He calls over and over. They used to call from 617-531-0453.
Indian accent.
They are calling my old job about 10 times a day and it is an African dude who is REAL rude!!! I don't have time to play with people.... I called the number back and they answered "Hello, can I help you" No there is nothing you can help me with and he left a message saying his name is Calvin Taylor. He says he is with the Department of Financial Fraud. I think he sent me an email at my work email and just from the wording you can tell it's not a legitimate company
This group of people are calling all of our numbers and demanding money, which we will not give. Does anybody have any solution other than ignoring them?
Please make complaints to the FTC with this number (877)438-4338.
These people named jim pederson n alex rodriqez keep calling me n my work constantly n calling receptionist a b****h and calls are non stop....I want a harrassment/threatening suit against them I asked for papers or documents and wont give any unless I pay 525 thru a western union my lawyet says no....