I came home from work and had a message from this woman stating that I had to call this number and gave me this phone number to call back on. something about being a state and legal problem and I had to use this case number she gave me. Then she said I had to call back before they started legal action. My boss told me if if was legal action, they would contact me by mail and not leave a message on the phone. Apparently this is a scam, so i just didn't call it back. She didn't give a company or even an lawyers name. if it was a legal situation, they would of at least given the name of the lawyer or attorneys office name.
TI had message left on my phone from a joanne smith about some fraud case against my social security number. Needed me to call this number back with a certain case number within the next 24 hours. I figured it was a scam because this is not the first time that this has happened. The last time they took more money from my account and overdrew my account so that I did not even have enough money to get my other bills paid. It is a scam
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.
Did you report her to the police? She's done the same thing with me multiple times. She got testy with me, asking who I was and hung up on me when I asked her not to call back.
I received a call from Joanne Smith with the Oracle Financial Group LLC, who left a message saying that there was a case against me in a former place where I lived of fraud, against my SSN. I tried to call back twice and got vm. I informed her that what she is doing is illegal and having worked with collections in the past, I know that you cannot issue a case against someone, over the phone, and if you are not a law enforcement person. These are illegal collection practices. I'm waiting now for calls from friends and coworkers saying that they received weird calls asking for me, will deal with it but they wont be pleased.