Some stranger called you and told you that you owe money for some debt?
If that happened to you, did you check your credit report to see if the debt actually exists? (You can get up to three free credit reports a year). Did your credit report show the debt was written off, or was the call from the original creditor?
If the debt was written off, that means the original creditor is trying to recover their tax liability, and they have sold your debt to some collector, for pennies on the dollar. This is usually called a "charge off" or a "write off".
You may still owe the debt! If you received a call from the collector, your next step is to assure the collector that called is the one who currently holds your debt. FDCPA rulings state that collectors MUST snailmail (USPS post) a "Validation Notice" to the debtor within 5 days of the original contact. If you do not get that Validation Notice, the phone call was probably NOT from the current legal holder of your debt.
By law, collectors must not make certain threats, such as sending you to jail (debt is a civil matter, not a criminal matter). The collector also must not promise to return your credit report to where it was before you stopped paying the debt (the "charge off" or "nonpay" statement will usually remain on your credit report for seven years).
If you owe (or owed) a debt, and if you have been called by a collector, you really need to take some time and read the information here:
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0149-debt-collection
You really should pay any outstanding debt ... but assure the payment goes to the legally authorized person or company!
Comes up as Louisiana on my phone, someone states my name and a case number, and tells me or my attorney needs to call them, and if I don't then they'll turn it over to my county court. Sounds like a scam..
Lady called looking for my attorney information and gave me a case number to take care of a debt and called family members I haven't seen in 10 years and I don't know how she got there number and I don't have it so weird
This group are scammers. They have either hacked into databases for companies you have previously had loans with, or they purchased information from the credit card hacks. These folks try and scare people into paying money for loans that often do not exist, and have never existed, and they pray on those that are not aware of the fair debt reporting and collection practices. Don't answer their calls. Just ignore them and they move on. I get these jerks calling me every few months or so and I never call them back. I spoke with my local sheriff's office and have filed complaints with several government agencies and have been told repeatedly to treat them like the old time bully and just ignore them.
This number calls about three times a week stating that our legal council needs to contact them . They even give a case number stating a formal complaint has been made. Total scam do not give these people any debit card or personal information! Report them to your local authority.