States they have documents to serve re: check fraud. Spoke with a Sarah Walker who would not send me any documentation just stated "good luck" when I get served. Refused to talk with my attorney, refused to give me any further information unless I set up a payment plan on a supposed debt from 2010.
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.
just got yet another phone call from these people. they were using 650-226-8344. Same person Kevin Harper leaves an automated message. I call back - and told them to stop calling me. The woman wouldnt tell me the last four of the social security she had so I made up something close to mine which I knew they didn't have correctly from the last time they called. She said that is not the social we have -- so I said so STOP CALLING ME!!!! she hung up. I went to the police and they said to ignore these phone calls. u never know where they are calling from because they can make up numbers and call from the computer so u never know. This scam really has to stop!!! The first time they called I filed a complaint with the California Attorney general and they said to ignore the calls. They have gotten many complaints about this number and other calif numbers and they don't think they are coming from california.
so fustrating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They called me claiming they had papers to serve me but they were using my grandmother's first name and my last name. I asked for their company name, they told me it is "Baldwyn Houser Lehmann & Associates" and gave me the address "1911 Grayson Highway. Grayson GA 30017" which is just a shopping center, not a law firm. I alerted my banks and and filed for a fraud alert with my credit bureaus. They called most of my family claiming my aunt had "used us as a reference" but they wouldn't say for what "for legal reasons".