(210) 960-9008

This scammer organization calls me repeatedly -- probably because I am 68 and, thus, assumed to be a "senile old woman" who is an easy "mark".

There are various scenarios, but usually the staffers tell you that they are a collection agency working for a company, and that you have an unpaid debt to that company; if you don't pay immediately, you will be arrested within the next day or two and have to go to court. This may scare a lot of people, but don't let it scare you -- and don't pay them any money. If you owe a debt, pay it directly to the company you owe, or to a genuine collection agency that the company notifies you that it is using; otherwise, the money will just go to the scammers and you will still need to pay the debt.

You can be sure these callers are perpetrating a fraud, because:

1. They try very hard to avoid naming the company to which you allegedly owe money. That's because they don't want you calling the company and finding out that you don't owe anything.

2. If they tell you the name of a company, it's usually going to be one that you used in the past, don't currently use, and don't owe any money. What's scary is that these scammers have actually obtained your personal information and used it to find out that you once used a particular company. The SCAMMERS are the ones that should be arrested and taken to court for identity theft. In any case, whether you recognize the company name, or whether you have never had any dealings with it, don't talk further to the scammers, and immediately call the company they claim to represent. Chances are, the company will tell you that you don't owe anything and that it has no connection to these scammers. You may also learn that the company is getting lots of calls about these scammers, and that the scammers are hurting their business because customers think that the company has employees or contractors who threaten and harass people.

3. They tell outrageous lies about what will happen to you. You don't get hauled off to jail summarily for having a debt you didn't pay. Scammers love to scare you with the threat of an arrest and imprisonment, but even if you owe money, that's not how things are handled. Most scammers do not understand the American legal system and make misstatements that border on the ludicrous. I've had scammers claim to be police who work for law firms -- uh-huh; never happens. I've also had scammers claim that the government will "take away your Social Security number" for failure to pay a debt -- foolish beyond words. Know the basics of our legal system and don't get fooled.

4. Scammers are reluctant to put things in writing. Legitimate collection agencies and companies will give you a written summary that includes the name of the collection agency, the collection agency's contact information, the name of the company to which you supposedly owe money, the amount of money you owe, and any finance charges that have been assessed. Scammers know that they are telling you a pack of lies, but realize that if they don't put things in writing, it will be hard for anyone to make a case against them.

5. Scammers call you repeatedly, often using employees with different names that are probably fake names. As an example, there's one company, not the one whose number is given here, that has mainly Indian employees. They have heavy Indian accents, but they all use names such as Officer John Smith or Mary Jones. Many scammers make threats or use hostile tones of voice and call at times such as 8:45 p.m. or 8:45 a.m. Many scammers use different phone numbers, often illegally "spoofed", Many scammers call you one month about one scam, and next month with another fraudulent request for money.

All in all, don't let the scammers scare you into giving them money. If you see a scammer number that you recognize on your Caller ID, either don't answer or tell them that you don't deal with scammers and hang up immediately.

If you must talk to the scammers -- and you really, really should not -- never give them any identifying information that they may request, such as your Social Security number or your birthdate. If they claim you owe money, insist on seeing proof. If they claim you owe money to a certain organization, call the organization and verify the claim.

Write down every piece of information you can about the scammers, including their own company name, the name of the person who called, the phone number from which the phone call appeared to come, the name of the company to which they claimed you owed money, and the amount they claimed was owing. If the callers used foul language or made threats, write down what was said. Send a letter with this information to the Federal Trade Commission, your state Attorney General, and the federal Attorney General. While legal action probably won't be taken unless you actually lost money, your report can help build a case.

called me to say i owed alot of money and i need to have my attorney call them to solve this problem if i dont within two days i will get arrested

called to say i did a loan and fraud with j.p morgan chase bank and that i was being arrested if i did not pay them what i owed which was 1000+. I called chase and they said i it was not them