855-391-3174

THESE PEOPLE ARE SCAMMERS! DO NOT ANSWER. They pretend to be a law firm stating that they have some legal papers for you to sign and if you do not respond to their messages and calls the legal matter will get worse. DO NOT ANSWER!!!

Sounded like it was read from a script...and they will be serving legal papers to my phone and gave legal notice over the phone message....hahahahahahahaha

Same script call saying they have legal papers for me to sign using a name I have not used for 12 years but they also called MY ESTRANGED STEP DAD (who I don’t even have the number for) making this super effed up. Wtf?????

Received a call re my brother & some court docs they’re trying to serve him with. Firstly, process servers do not give a heads up. My brother calls against my better judgment and they say it’s a Bank of America “debt” so they’ll be out next week to serve him, they rattle off an address for said delivery. They claim they are Harris&Harris trying to collect a debt but that he owes the bank. He’s never had BOA and when he said to just give the court date time and address he’ll go over it with the judge. They provided a “case number” and hung up…

My brother received a call today and they also called a distant relative who lives in England!

First time they called they called my ex husband's wife asking for me.  I called them back and they said it was a debt from BOA from years ago(Neve have banked or had any business with BOA) and was not going away.  I asked them to email or resend the paperwork they said they sent in February...was told that it was past the 30 days and that I would be served paperwork (this was two weeks ago). Just received a call on my cell phone with the exact same message they left with my ex husband's wife--verbatim.  Not sure what the scam is but these people are persistent and very rude.  The man I spoke with(after being transferred 2 times) got upset with me because I told him that it sounded like a complete scam and he tells me "You do realize that this call is being recorded and will be played for the judge in the courtroom." LOL!

They called me asking for my wife and asking if she was home so they could serve her papers relating to a lawsuit that could be criminal or Federal. They gave a case # and said to call Cornell & Associates with any questions.

Lawsuits are civil.  If it was criminal then you would be getting a visit from law enforcement.  I don't know what they mean by Federal.

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

My husband just got a similar call and they called his old employer too saying they needed to serve papers. Different callback number then what is posted on this thread (one digit off)  but same company name. Cornell & Associates.

You knew that you were in the wrong number thread yet you posted here anyway?  Why?