216-393-0456

UPDATE!!!! These numbers are either residential or cell phone. They are not even legit. My question to everyone is did you recently get a notice from Certegy a check recovery provider.(they are a legit company), saying that one of their employees was selling names and account info to persons who should not have this info. I am going to contact them right now. As far as all these yahoos writing and misspelling words and glorifying the greatness of this agency, BITE ME, I am sure you are part of this scam.

caller states they are sending my case before litigation, i called them back, they said it was for a bounced check, in a city and state i have never lived in. i called my atty, he said to have them send the papers. they told me they will send a subpeona and if i dont appear in court there will be a warrant posted for my arrest. IN A STATE I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO OR WILL NEVER GO TO? hahahahahaha.

Yeah they said they would have someone right over to pick me up. I've had lunch waiting all day...figured I would feed them before they took me away....It's 6 pm no shows, still. If you wish to file a complaint the BBB in cleveland OH is very interested in these people as well as the FTC, both can be accessed online. I have closed my account and froze it, they have had no access to my accounts, they never sent paperwork over the email like they said they would. HMMM, interesting isn't it???!!!

just another bit of info.
Call the BBB in Cleveland OH, and call the Attorney General in Ohio, they want to hear from all of us.
Got a letter from these people claiming to be the NAAIB, they can't get any of their info correct. DO NOT BELIEVE THEM. Call the Attorney General
in your state, I did. It is worth it.

My husband recieved the same call but we tried to do a recverse look up before calling them back, because they didnt leave a company name. Thats when we found this site. Needless to say they got a call back fromhim and lets say he left a pretty nasty message using many 4 letters words! For the lady interested in a class action count us in!

Ditto!!! I received the same phone call tonite at my ex husbands house of 14 years.  So count me in.  Im pissed and there are not enough 4 letter words for me to use on them.  You go!!!!!!!!!!

This company called someone's house and left a message on their voicemail looking for either my husband or son(same name).The caller (female) said that her name was Lisa Garrett or Lisa Gary and that she is a special investigator concerning a civil matter from some unknown county. She said to call her within 48 hours or other legal action would be taken. She left this message with someone that she evidentally tracked down through her investigation. There was never a letter or anything sent to our address concerning this matter. I am highly offended that this company would call someone else's house and leave this message on their voicemail.

I received a similar call in June, but ignored it because I figured it was a collection agency trying to collect a very old debt beyond the statute of limitations.  Also civil claims are usually handled through the mail, and since I hadn't received anything in writing I figured it was the latest collection agency tactic to collect old debt.  Today I received a call, except it was more threatening.  The number she was calling from was 216-373-1460, and the person said she was special investigater Tammy James, and that a civil complaint had been filed against me and was being formalized in my county.  They gave me a court case affidavit number and said I had been named as respondent and must appear.  They then said I or my attorney must contact their offices immediately at 216-393-0456.  Then they said failure to respond will result in further actions and litigations to be filed against me.  The other tip off was it sounded like a telemarketer with lots of people talking in the background and phones ringing.  I used several reverse phone lookups and could only find out it was in Cleveland, Warren or Independence Ohio.  These guys are real jerks, unfortunately it has worked enough times they keep doing it.  Very profitable for them, since they probably pay pennies to get these old accounts.

Hi. Glad to find you all!!!   I was told that I would be charged with civil and criminal charges, a class e felony, served with either a summons or a bench warrant for my arrest for a credit card debt I owed on a card I never opened in a city I never lived in !!!!
They locate you or a relative through intellius.com- Mrs. Devonna Cash taht works for this company led me to this site and showed me how she found me. iT is, a generic people search. They accuse you of some bogus debt and charges that you face.  The consumer is so terrified and dumfounded because they are so anxious to prove there is some mistake, they are conned into confirming who they ARE NOT, and therefore, the company can determine who you ARE!  
By the end of my hour long phone call, I was so terrified and the company went from not having any information on me, only my mothers' telephone number where a message was left.. to having my current address, ssn, age, dob..
I don't believe the company has an association with the Law Firm of Robert Goldstein.  There is a complaints listed on the cleveland, oh BBB website for consumer fraud alerts, and the company goes by several different aliases.

TO ALL: what can we do?  I have called back several times in anger and have been hung up on.  When I provided them with my "case #" the last time, they could not locate me.  Funny.  
Everyone should place a FRAUD ALERT on their credit report.  This deters people from opening any accounts.
I will keep checking this post for updates. I'd like to participate in a class action suit if any are interested.

I received a call from 216-373-1464 stating that there was a civil case being brought against me in my county and that they were trying to give me an opportunity to settle this now.  I refused to give them information about me when I called and they became combative and placed me on hold.

I found information on “Junk Debt Buyers” at the link below. This seems to be what this scam is.

    http://www.credit-repair.atomicshops.com/junkdebtbuyers.html

I received my call at 6:56 PM central 09/27/2007 from (216) 393-0456. I've put the transcript below:

         NOTE: SMITH is not the real name.

"This message is for Eric C. SMITH.  My name is special investigator <pause> Jonathon Wright.  I'm calling in regards to a civil complaint <pause> that has been named against you <pause> where you've been labeled as the respondent and must appear <pause> pursuant to claim affidavit number RZH6923. <pause> You need to contact my office immediately upon receiving this message, either you or your attorney.  My contact number is 216 393 0456.  I must remind you that this is a time sensitive matter and needs to be addressed as soon as possible.  Good day and good luck."

There was noise in the background, and it sounded like a telemarketing phone bank.  Mr. "Wright" appeared to be reading from a script, and seemed to have difficulties with some of the words (including his own name).

We purchased this house in October 2005 from a Scott SMITH (same as name used in message).  Being conscientious, I thought I should call them back and let them know these facts (i.e., that they probably had the wrong Mr. SMITH, but in any case he wasn't here).

On my return call (at 7:07 PM, using a cellular phone), I could barely understand the gentleman due to his accent and noise on the line (may have been a mobile).  I've spent 4.5 years abroad, just returning from the Middle East last month after an 18 month assignment.  My wife is French.  We've got a lot of friends (and family) from other places - I usually don’t have trouble understanding people with accents.

I asked for Jonathon Wright and was told he was busy and to give my claim number to the gentleman I was speaking to. I asked the gentleman to identify himself and I understood him to say John (something) from World (something).  I figured I would ask for this information again at the end of the call, and gave him the claim number. I was told that I owed over $10,000 (I can’t recall the exact amount, but it was $10,xxx). I tried to explain that I didn’t owe anything and was only calling to tell them that Eric C. SMITH had never lived here but that a Scott SMITH had. That’s when I was told that, actually, they were looking for the current owner of my house (and gave the address).  I confirmed that I was the owner of that address, and was told that a lien in the amount of $10,xxx would be placed against my house.  I then explained that would not be legal since Eric C. Smith did not live here. “John” then said they were actually looking for another person (whose name is close to mine). I questioned why they would call looking for a guy that had never lived here, not care that the name was close to somebody that had lived here, and then decide that I was actually the person they were looking for. “John” responded by stating they were looking for somebody with a social security number that ended with “XXXX”. I told him I wouldn’t tell him anything else until he explained why they were looking for Eric C. SMITH and now want somebody totally different. He said they only wanted the current owner of the house and that a lien would be put in place for the amount of $10,xxx. We played this game for a few minutes, and I think he threatened I would be charged with a felony in civil court (which doesn’t make sense). “John” then hung up on me.

I immediately called back and got “John” again. I asked if he hung up on my and he said that he would no longer talk to me and “good luck in court”. He hung up again.

I called back and he immediately started saying “stop calling back, I will not listen to you”. I tried to explain that I didn’t know who he really was, who he worked for, or have any proof. He would only say “I will not listen to you”.

I called back at 10:00 PM and let the phone ring. It finally went to a recorded message indicating that I had reached “Investigation Bureau”.

FYI - some contact information:

    Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann
    -------------------------------
    Colleen Brown, Executive Assistant
    614-466-4320
    State Office Tower
    30 E. Broad Street, 17th Floor
    Columbus, OH 43215-3428
    (614) 466-4320
    http://www.ag.state.oh.us/contact/index.asp

    Better Business Bureau of Cleveland
    -----------------------------------
    2217 E 9th St # 200
    Cleveland, OH 44115
    (216) 241-7678
    http://www.cleveland.bbb.org/home/

The BBB of Cleveland also posted an alert recently on this issue:

    http://www.cleveland.bbb.org/misc/alertdetl.asp?ID=201

THIS IS A PHISHING SCAM - DO NOT TELL THEM ANYTHING !!!

09/28/2007 - 4:35 PM - Called them back again from a different number. This time I didn't give them any information up front. The gentleman I spoke to revealed he was a Mr. Martian with Global Asset Investigation Services located in Independence, Ohio. They have no web site. He also indicated that the (216) 393-0456 number was toll free (it isn't). At this point I had to give him the claim number to go further. He asked if I was Eric C. SMITH and I told him I couldn't tell him until I was sure this wasn't a scam. He said that was up to me, but if I didn't resolve it with him there would be a summons issued against me by attorney Robert Goldstein. I asked if Mr. Goldstein was a member of the bar in Texas and he said he must be because he's got offices all around the world. I pointed out it wasn't likely he was, and if not he couldn't practice law here, and therefore it didn't matter. I asked what this was about and was told he couldn't tell me unless I confirmed I was Eric C. SMITH. I told him I was advised not to reveal anything until I knew what was going on. He again told me that was my choice, but that I would have a summons. I told him I must be the guy he's looking for because he called me and I knew the case number, so go ahead and tell me what the issue was. He again said he had to confirm who I was because there was more than one Eric C SMITH - I told him in that case good luck issuing a summons because he didn't know who I was or where Eric C. SMITH was. He then said they were trying to get somebody with the last four digits of SSN of "YYYY" - which is different than when I called last night. I said "maybe", and he gave me the entire SSN. When I asked him to repeat he figured out he screwed up and said "I have to put you on hold" and never came back.

I am an attorney in Washington State.  One of my former clients has been harassed repeatedly by this company and we have recently initiated legal proceedings against them.  I fully expect they will not respond and I will obtain a default judgment.  If anyone has any information on where these guys actually do business and better yet, where their bank accounts are, I would be most appreciative.  

We sued these organizations under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  

The Jump Law Group
528 2nd Avenue South
Kent, WA 98032
(253) 479-0241
jumplawgroup@jumplawgroup.com
www.jumplawgroup.com

I received a call Thurs. Sept 27 around 11 am from a "Lisa Garey" at my direct line work number. She said that this was a "courtesy" call about a civil suit against me, I ask from who..she said that she could not answer that due to the privacy act law..she gave me a "case" # and told me to call 216-393-0456. I wasnt quick enough to catch on to this, I told her I was at work and cannot make calls like that, she said, "you mean you refuse to call"!!, I said, I cannot call at this time, I said I had to get back to work and not to call me at work, she then reply with a "what ever..remark"..and hung up...shows how immature this courtesy caller was. I then google the number and found this site with so many common results..again, the word "warrant and arrest" was use in that "courtesy call"..next time i will be prepared to get answers other than "what ever".I have 1 other pending collection junk debt buyers trying to collect on a old debt, not sure if this scam is connected to Midland Credit.

Nice try, Marsha - a/k/a Global Investigative.  Are debt collection agencies so dim they don't realize everyone sees through these fake posts?

Threating calls to sue. Said I had a felony.

I sent $650.00 to these people in FEB at NAAIB and never got a letter saying the debt was paid- I just found this site - I have been getting collection calls now from another company, saying nothing was paid- I just called the number again and was switched 2 times and then no dial tone!!

Like all of you, I too received a number of calls from this scam outfit.  I checked with the Ohio Bar Assn, then contacted Attny. Goldstein's office, they have no connection with these crooks and advised me to contact the authorities. I HIHGLY RECOMMEND THAT ALL OF YOU FOLLOW THESE PROCEDURES:
Contact your local poloce and file a report;
Contact the FBI and follow their recommendations to file a report at www.ic3.gov  and  www.consumer.gov/idtheft;
Contact the Better Business Bureau in Cleveland, Ohio at 216-241-7678 and file a detailed complaint;
Contact your credit Bureaus and put an immediate fraud alert on your account.
If we all work together, we can bring these scumbags down. Good luck and be safe.

This company called one of my clients regarding a pending lawsuit.  I talked to the company and we realized that they had the wrong person.  Apparently, Worldwide Assets was threatening a lawsuit against my client for a 1998 debt.  The statute of limitations has already run out for the company to sue on the debt.  In California, the statute of limitations is 4 years.  

Under Section 807 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, it is unlawful for a company to threaten to take “any action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken,” and to falsely represent the legal status of any debt.  In "A Guide to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 137," American Collectors Association (ACA) wrote, “ACA maintains the position that collectors can contact consumers about accounts after the statute of limitations has expired, as long as no legal remedies, such as a lawsuit or wage garnishment are taken or threatened.”  

It is unlawful for this company to threaten anyone with a lawsuit for an old debt.  PLEASE report these tactics to the Better Business Bureau of Cleveland Ohio (they are listed as World Wide Asset Investigation) and the Federal Trade Commission.  Their address is at 1874 Medale Drive, Cleveland, OH  21456.