If you get a call from someone saying that they are debt collectors from “Financial Accountability Association” or the “Federal Legislation of Unsecured Loans", the Better Business Bureau (BBB) says that you take extreme caution before you deal with them - even if they rattle off your personal information to get you to believe that they are legit.
Debt collector scammers might have your Social Security and bank account numbers, home addresses, driver's license numbers, employer information, and even the names of personal friends and professional references. They will mention them when the call you.
“Because the scammers have so much information about potential victims, BBB is concerned that this may be the result of a data breach,” said Steve Cox, BBB spokesperson, said in a press release.
The organization recently issued a national alert about calls coming from lawyers claiming to be from those two companies.
These callers say that the consumer has defaulted on a payday loan and will be sued and immediately arrested and extradited to California to stand trial unless as much as $1,000 is wired. They will ask for bank account or credit card numbers if you say you can't wire the money.
According to complaints online, phone numbers that the scammers are calling from include: 949-468-5107, 415-200-0274, 415-200-0274, 213-784-5745, 408-715-1614 and many others.
More info from the Better Business Bureau website
What to do consumers receive a suspicious telephone call about an outstanding debt:
• Ask the debt collector to provide official documentation which substantiates the debt.
• Do not provide or confirm any bank account, credit card or other personal information over the phone until you have confirmed the legitimacy of the call.
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission online if the caller is abusive, uses threats or otherwise violates federal telemarketing laws.
• File a complaint with BBB online if you believe a debt collector is trying to scam you.
Photo credit: cbsnews.com
No comments:
Post a Comment