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.
Tony Mitchell plays b-ball for the Detroit Pistons. "Ashley Banks" was a character on the 1990s sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air".
"ACS" is an acronym long associated with South Asian thugs posing as debt collectors, who are fond of borrowing their aliases from American popular culture.
These people are liars and thieves. I have been getting calls like this for years. I have even consulted an attorney and was told this is a Scam that has been going on for years. These so called companies get your information and they sell it to other bottom feeder companies for a few cents. These companies then call and try to extort money that you do not owe by using scare tactics such as saying that you will be arrested or they will come to your place of employment and serve court papers on you. If i had $5 for every call that said I would be arrested or taken to court over the past 4 years, I could probably quit my job. They may even resort to calling family members. As the attorney explained , if they can scare 5 people into paying $$ you don't owe on a debt they have no ownership over, then they are making a profit. Do not give them any personal information. If they call your work, go to your HR dept and explain the situation. It is against the law to call you at work if you or your employer tell them not to. If they call your family members, advise them to Not be scared into giving them any $$.
However, be advised, if these people can't get money out of you, they will probably sell your information to another bottom feeder company saying the same thing but for a different amount of money and a different phone number. And so it goes on and on.
Best practice is to not speak to them at all and just report them to the FTC and BBB.
The only way to stop these kinds of calls is education, spread the word and put these crooks out of business!
I got a call...answered and was put on hold. then a woman identifying herself as Nicolette Branson asked me I was Matthew, I said yes and I asked what is your company name and she said "Integrated Financial Services". I said and what is your mailing address for my records as I am am recording this call. She said I don't have to tell you that and I said, OH YES YOU DO. She said (and I am still laughing), this is a FEDERALLY recorded call and I am disconnecting now.
I call bovine-feces on this one!