866-231-1068

We've received multiple (over 10) messages on our answering machine from "Mr. Cross" claiming his callback number is 866-231-1068.

I just recieved one of those calls myself.  does anyone know what this is and what type of scam it is?

I, too, received a call from this number.   The same recorded "Mr. Cross" was the person wanting me to call this number

This is the third call I have received from this Mr. Cross, saying that this is not a sales call, that it concerns me personally.  I think I read somewhere that by calling back, you give them access to use long distance and it is VERY expensive.  If it concerned me, he should have identified his company and he did not.  I would not call this number back.  You would think Verizon or whomever would help protect us, but I guess if we receive a big bill, they win.

I've been getting calls from mr. cross for about two weeks now, I live in Texas.  Not only have I received a call from mr. cross, but a john gregory as well who leaves a call back number of 877-943-1013.  I have called both back, but as well am very cautious as not to leave any information, such as my name, as they never use my name.  The 1st time I called back I talked to the guy that is called john gregory, he had that same fake sounding voice, he immediately asked for my phone number and name, as I called from a different phone than they usually call.  I told him that if the call was so important that he should know who was calling, and he got rude and hung up, saying that  he has around 50 employees working for him.  this was about a week ago that I called.  I called again today, 10-17-07 as I am still receiving calls.  I called mr. crosses number this time, and I talked to people with real voices.  The lady I talked to verified the number that I called from and started off with the question "Do you know Mary" and "Does Mary live with you."  I told her that I would not give her any information until I knew what kind of business they were.  She tried to get around this  but finally said that the business name was prs.  As I wouldn't answer her question she hung up.  I called the local police department, they told me to tell them the next time to not call back, and then if they call back contact them again.  I called back and talked to another lady with a different voice, but real, she verified my number from their system, and ashed me the same weird question.  I refused to give the information, and let her know that I did not want another call and that the authorities would be notified if I received another call, she basically said do whatever makes you happy, and said that they are a company that is not affected by that, click she hung up.  I'm wondering if this might be some kind of a people search thing?  Any one else have any insight?  I am trying to keep the messages that they send me.

Persistant Irritant + Lack Of Professionalism = Scuzzy Collection Agency.  I've dealt with a number of these jerks - they're probably looking for a "Mary" who once had your phone # or lived at your address, or who you went to high school with, etc.  Best thing to do is note their number and not answer when they call.  That annoys them more than anything else: talking with them usually gets you nowhere as they're a fairly brain-dead group, and reason and courtesy go right over their heads.

It's a collection agency, duh! The cannot provide any information to you until they can identify you as the person they are trying to get in touch with. It's a liability to their company to give out any confidential info until they can properly identify you. They already have your personal information such as name, phone#, address, SS#, credit card #'s, etc... They cannot even talk to your spouse until you give them written permission. I do owe about $1900 that I have been trying to payback, but I have been having a hard time after losing my job and career to an employer that embezzled company funds and shut down the company I worked for. I was making good money and now I have a small income for my family to live on. I will payback this money as soon as I can. It's DEFINITELY a collection agency. Debt is constantly sold off to other companies after collection attempts have been exhausted by one company. I'm not sure which company this debt if for.

BTW... either you owe money to someone, and they have a third party trying to collect, or the phone# or address you currently have were previously used by someone that owed someone else money.

Calls cell phone and leaves message on voice mail: "Hi. This is Mr. Cross. It is essential I speak to you right away regarding information I have which concerns you.  And I'd like to speak to you regarding this.  This is not a sales call - you can reach me at 866 231-1068.  Again this is Mr. cross regarding information I have which concerns you. And I need to speak with you regarding this.  This is not a sales call.  Again, this is Mr. Cross at 866 231-1068 and I need to speak to you right away."

Thank you for your comments.  I have been receiving calls from this same person for over a year now.  I try to not answer the phone when my caller ID shows one of their numbers.  Here's the ones they've used so far: 866 231-1068; 877 929-1052; 866 248-1023; 877 943-1013; 866 464-1013; 866 556-2117; 800 309-8000; 877 949-1073.  The names used have been:  Mr. Goldberg; Mr. Shapiro; John Banks; Frank Stein; someone asking for "Linda Seena"; John Gregory; Mr. Cross; Andrew Brubaker; Ron Golden; Jack Farley; Louis Weinberg; Bob Russo.  They're all the same person except for the one asking for "Linda Serna".  I also received a local call from the same person asking for "Linda Serna" one time.  The problem began when I answered my phone from an unknown caller one day and made the mistake of confirming my name when he asked.  He also had my social security number which I did not confirm and then he got extremely rude.  I guess that's the validation process and then that company sells the name and number and info to one of these collection agencies who makes these machine calls. The debt they are trying to collect is way beyond the statute of limitations, so all they can do is continue to harass me.  I suppose I could change my phone number and then be sure not to confirm my name to an unknown caller, but there's nothing they can do to collect the debt unless I offer to pay.

First it was John Gregory, now Im getting calls from Mr. Cross. Same message as above. I didnt call it back either. Decided to look it up on the internet and now know its a collection agency. Must be from the previous owner of my phone number. And I was hoping it was HGTV telling my I won their sweepstakes! Damn!

I have just received a call from this man named Mr. Cross. He did not ask for anybody by name. He just left his name and the phone#1-866-231-1068 and that he needs to get in touch with someone as soon as possible.It is a personal matter.
I did not call him back and I will not. I don't know him and he left no name of the company he is from. I see I am not alone. By the way today is  Sunday and I do not answer any 800 numbers on Sundays. I got fooled before by immediately answering these kinds of calls in the past and got harrassed each time and threatened by the person on the other end of the call. Almost sent the money they said I owed because they threatened to have the police pick me up on my job if I didn't pay them this money. I fell for it the first time and paid over $600.00 and asked them to send me a letter clearing me of this debt. The man said he would, and I waited for 3 months and never heard from him again and could not reach him by phone. SO I am very cautious these days and if I have not received a letter and confirmation first that I owe a debt, I will not call back or send any money.
I am glad I am not alone.

I have been getting these for about 2 weeks now...exact same recording as above but I do not call back. If it is a debt collector, I do not know of any outstanding debt that I have with any company or third party agency.

Also I forgot to note , this has somewhat frightened my daughters whom have answered, and have heard the recording on our answering machine and now they seem to be worried ....They are young and think the worst.

My 90 yr. old friend has been receiving these calls for weeks.  It's always a recording that is difficult for her to hear. Also,they disturb her at all times of day.  Glad to know it's a collection agency and not a scam, but these recorded messages should be illegal.

Hi. This is Mr. Cross. It is essential I speak to you right away regarding information I have which concerns you.  And I'd like to speak to you regarding this.  This is not a sales call - you can reach me at 866 231-1068.  Again this is Mr. cross regarding information I have which concerns you. And I need to speak with you regarding this.  This is not a sales call.  Again, this is Mr. Cross at 866 231-1068 and I need to speak to you right away."

I would like to know who the hell is this Mr. Cross is. when he call it is only a recording. There should be a way that the telephone company can stop him from calling. He calls 3 to 4 times a day and every week.

Ok,I've done my research and here is my conclusion.  This is most likely a collection agency, meaning one of four things:

1) You are late on payments and someone has hired an agency to collect.

2) Someone else had your "current phone number or address" and is late on payments so the collection agency is calling you by mistake.  Note: They will not stop until you talk to them and even then you may not convince them that it is not you.

3) Someone with a similar name or social security number is late on payments and the agency is mistakenly calling you.  You could be John P. Smith and they are looking for John R. Smith.  Again, calling may not help.  See my note above...

Finally, the doomsday scenario:

4) Someone has stolen your identity and has opened credit in your name.  Solution: You can contact equifax, experian or transunion to order a free copy of your credit report.  If someone has opened credit in your name, it will show on your report.  I have enrolled in a Life Lock.  They are a company that will place fraud alerts in your name with the above bureaus and order the credit reports for you.  The fraud alerts do not hurt your credit score.  It just means you must be contacted before new credit is open.  You can do this yourself but Life Lock is $100 a year and they update the fraud alert every 90 days, plus they have a 1,000,000 guarantee to insure your good name.  If your identity is stolen, they spend up to 1,000,000 to restore your name and credit.  If your identity is already stolen the guarantee does not apply but Life Lock says they will help you as much as they can.  I don't work for the company.  It's up to you.

One more thought... I just signed up for call screening with my phone company.  I blocked one number and the company is now using another number.  I'm thinking about changing my number but I bet that only works for a few months.

I received a similar call from a Mr. Cross.  It is PRS  (Professional Recovery Services).  Professional is not the approach they tried.  They told me the were not subject to the collections laws of my state.  Funny, that is a lie.

I started receiving these phone calls from 'Mr. Cross' immediately after getting a new house phone with a new phone number. The past week and a half, I have gotten phone calls every day, including at 8 am on a Sunday (very annoying). My guess is that whomever had this phone number before me owes someone. This number is not even listed anywhere under my name yet, so I know it's not for me. I'm not certain at this point if I'll try calling back to see if I can get them to stop calling me.