816-759-0508

Sevral family members contaced me in referenc to several calls from 816-759-0508. The person stated their name was Kelly Madole from William and Moore Fraud DIvision. They told them that I was being investigated for fraudulant checks and they wanted to gie me the heads up. When i contacted them I advised that my call was being recorded, once I asked Keelly for the address to the company she put me on hold. A man came back and identified himself as Ron Steele who advised me that he could not talk to me or giv me any information without my family members permission. Which is funny because I told them I was th person they was trying to reach. He hung up th phone.

I don't know who these people are and i'm positive i don't have any outstanding checks. Don't allow these people to scam or scar you out of your money.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, is warning consumers to be on the alert for scam artists posing as debt collectors. It may be hard to tell the difference between a legitimate debt collector and a fake one. Sometimes a fake collector may even have some of your personal information, like a bank account number. A caller may be a fake debt collector if he:

is seeking payment on a debt for a loan you do not recognize;
refuses to give you a mailing address or phone number;
asks you for personal financial or sensitive information; or
exerts high pressure to try to scare you into paying, such as threatening to have you arrested or to report you to a law enforcement agency.

If you think that a caller may be a fake debt collector:
Ask the caller for his name, company, street address, and telephone number. Tell the caller that you refuse to discuss any debt until you get a written "validation notice." The notice must include the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor you owe, and your rights under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
If a caller refuses to give you all of this information, do not pay! Paying a fake debt collector will not always make them go away. They may make up another debt to try to get more money from you.

Stop speaking with the caller. If you have the caller's address, send a letter demanding that the caller stop contacting you, and keep a copy for your files. By law, real debt collectors must stop calling you if you ask them to in writing.

Do not give the caller personal financial or other sensitive information. Never give out or confirm personal financial or other sensitive information like your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number unless you know whom you're dealing with. Scam artists, like fake debt collectors, can use your information to commit identity theft – charging your existing credit cards, opening new credit card, checking, or savings accounts, writing fraudulent checks, or taking out loans in your name.

Contact your creditor. If the debt is legitimate – but you think the collector may not be – contact your creditor about the calls. Share the information you have about the suspicious calls and find out who, if anyone, the creditor has authorized to collect the debt.

Report the call. Contact the FTC and your state Attorney General's office with information about suspicious callers. Many states have their own debt collection laws in addition to the federal FDCPA. Your Attorney General's office can help you determine your rights under your state's law.>

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt076.shtm

DON'T GET SHOOK UP  IT'S JUST A SCAM !!!

Dec 4, 2012, we received a "very imporant, professional and  legal sounding" voicemail from someone named Emma Martinez with the "Fraud and Missing Checks Division". Had to replay the message 5 times because she was whispering and barely audible. Could hear other noises in the background. She said she must advice us that by law, she is "required" to inform us that we are entitled to legal counsel but that if we do not call back in one day she will document that we have waived our right to legal representation and they will proceed with their "case" against us.

We called back early (6:30 am ) the next morning hoping to hear an answering machine describing exactly who these people are because it didn't make sense. Another person answered and said they were the "Welfare Fraud" division of Williams and Moore Attorneys at Law.
So far - they have identified themselves as 2 different companies.
Typed in the phone number on google  only to find they are a FAKE COLLECTION COMPANY. They said we had 2 Felony warrant arrests for bad checks written to a bank in 2009. Funny thing - we haven't been with that bank since 2007 !!  When asked if they have the right person or how we know it is us (knowing it wasn't us).. they got tougher: OH-WE GOT YOU ALRIGHT. WE HAVE SURVELEINCE ON YOU. WE HAVE YOUR SIGNATURE. WE HAVE YOUR FINGERPRINTS, etc. AND THEN THE KICKER: If we don't pay them (wire them) by 11:00 tonight, we will be arrested and will stay in jail until the judge hears our case!

I immediately hung up and called the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (we live in Colorado) and the FBI. The FBI told us to report it to the Federal Trade Commission, and Colorado Atty General's office and the BBB.  The Federal Trade Commission said they are a SCAM. They are NOT legitimate and they use EXTREME FEAR tactics to EXHORT MONEY.  Were advised NOT to answer their calls, or to hang up immeidately if we pick up by mistake.
DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY INFORMATION. You can also tell this is a scam because when you get a voicemail, it does NOT identify them as being with an Attorney's office.. just an invidual message saying "sorry we missed your call and I will get back to you after I check my email." Please note they THEY WILL RETAIN your phone number if you call them. So block their number right after you make contact.

The Federal Trade Commission agent also said to take a big imaginary eraser and erase the entire thing from our memory and not to give it another thought.

I just received a all from them saying word by word that everyone on this page is saying. A scam indeed! Protect yourself from these losers! Smh

Ron Steele also called me, claiming to be a lawyer in the fraud division with Weinbaum Storz & Associates (or something like that) and left a message. I called back and asked the switchboard operator what was the name of the law firm and where they were based. She would only say the name of the firm so quickly that I couldn't understand it, and she refused to slow down or spell it for me, and then hung up on me. Most definitely not a legitimate professional law firm.