315-291-6236

Received a TXT asking to contact 833-709-3428

Got a txt to call 833-709-3428” said to call to prevent noncompliance and escalation

Got a text into spam folder addressed to my MIL name saying:  Please contact our office at 844-734-1515 refer to account #GML223356.  I asked my husband why she gave my number out, he said he got the same message as well as his sister.  He asked her why she did that.  She claims she did not give out our number, that she posted on a job board and now she is receiving spam messages; if so, then how the heck did they get all of our cell numbers.

The obtained your numbers via social media searches to find relatives and public data bases of telephone numbers.

Received a text from this number twice, and they messages my moms cell phone as well?  I have no debt & this has to be a scam because no collector is going to text you on a Sunday night to talk about “escalating and non complainance” I replied STOP and they texted back that said” Lonestar Business Solutions: You have opted out and will no longer receive messages from this service.  Reply RESUME to subscribe. Contact officemanager@lbsllconline.com”

Replying to that text message was the absolute worst thing that you could have done.

One of the tricks they use is to call your family, friends, neighbors and/or places of employment (past or present or both) to create panic and embarrassment so that their intended victim calls them so that they can scare that person into paying extortion money.  They will usually also state information that would be illegal for a real debt collector to state to department and tell them that you are a deadbeat who does not pay their bills. They often call people that have never even been a third party such as that you are being sued, that you owe money to someone, etc. They threaten that if you do not call them back, they will contact your HR associated with you because they get erroneous information off the internet.

The fake process server/location finder extortion SCAM usually consists of the following:

They mention that they have received a Fax document or some sort of complaint and that there is a pending legal matter or action about to filed against you to create the sense of urgency. They tell you that they are a “process server” and cannot give you the particulars of the case since the file is sealed. This is simply ruse to get you to call another number (often with a made-up case number) where they will ask for money to “make it go away” (this is actually the same place, they work in teams, one pretending to be the server, and the other usually pretends to be a lawyer). They threaten to serve you at home or at work. They tell you that if they serve you at work then they will need a supervisor, security, or HR person there as a witness, hoping that will cause you to panic over the alleged embarrassment of being served at work. They also tell you that you will need two forms of ID. None of which is true. Process servers do not ever call ahead so that you can dodge them. Process servers get paid to serve papers, nothing else. They certainly are not going to pass up a paycheck by telling you that you can avoid being served, they are not going to give you an extra day or even a few hours to get a “stop order”. Court documents are time sensitive and must be served within a certain amount of time. Remember that you can always call the local courthouse to see if there really is a lawsuit that has been filed against you.

It is incumbent upon them under the law to prove that the debt exists and that you owe it, and (this is the important part) that they have the legal right to collect it. You are not obligated under the law to prove that you don’t owe or that it is paid.

Federal law (FDCPA) requires them to send you a letter, email, or text (postmarked in the case of a letter) within 5 days of their first contact that contains their name, physical address, the creditor’s name, and the amount of the alleged debt. Unless they have communicated it to you verbally at the beginning of your conversation. It also must contain the “mini-Miranda” telling you that it is an attempt to collect a debt and that all information will be used for those purposes. The one other important thing that this communication must also have in it is that you have a right to dispute the debt within 30 days of receipt of the letter and if you do so, all collection activity must be stopped until the debt is verified. If and when you get that communication you should immediately send that debt validation letter by certified, return receipt mail.

First, you should make a complaint at this Federal Agency, and while there you should also read up on how debt collection is supposed to work as well as what your rights in this matter are: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/

Also file a complaint with your State Attorney General's office.
List of State AG’s offices: https://800notes.com/faq/attorney-general

Unwanted Text Messages

Forward unwanted text messages to 7726 so that carriers will block them. Some carriers do not accept that code and if that is the case then contact your carrier about how to block unwanted text messages, however 7726 is accepted in the US, Canada, and Great Britain. Also, never, ever click on a link in a text message as it will probably install something nasty to your phone that you really will not want to deal with and never, ever respond to one because lets them know that they have a good number with someone on the other end.  It will result in more calls and texts.