866-304-0456

"Nicole" keeps leaving messages claiming to be an employee of my local county's "Process Service Dispatch." Says she calling to give notice of an Action Complaint.

Called the number. "Nicole" answered. Claimed her name was "Kerry" -same voice as left message right down to her accent. Denied she had called.

Anyway, she claimed to be working for Aaronson Legal Services, 12100 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025, which is a company that does not exist. (There is an Aaronson law firm in CA but they're located in a different city at a different address.) I live in Kansas.

Called the real Aaronson legal people. They're getting complaints from others receiving the same kind of messages. Their firm is NOT the source.

That's why I've marked this number as a scam. Not a real legal firm. Scummy scammers.

This number called me today.
Said from some civil service.
Knew my whole name  and the last 4 digits of my SSN,
Buy when I refused to say yes or no when she wanted me to verify it ,,,she got upset and told me ,,I would recieve my papers in the mail for court and hung up

"Vanessa" claimed to be calling from Process Service Dispatch in reference to a civil complaint that has been forwarded to her office. They provided a case number and said I need to call today or else a decision will be made without my consent. Now that I read these other comments, this is obviously bogus.

Yeti, definitely bogus since real process servers don't call in advance.

“Vanessa” called with “urgent” civil service complaint.

I got a call from Courtney with process service dispatch gave me a case number and told me she had no info to give. She gave me the number above and I sopke with a Joesph a few times and he has been thr rudest person ever. When i accused him of spam he got so defensive. Trying to get me to pay a large sum on an old credit card he claimed I had.

They have a new number they are calling from: 1-866-972-1882.
They are using search engines like "true people search" to find other people (family) linked to you to reach out to FIRST, as if to make it seem like an emergency/serious matter. They inform whomever answers there's a "civil complaint" that has been issued against you - possibly mentioning a past or present county you may reside in. They will leave a reference number too.

Im just curious, did anything transpire from this? This is happening to a close friend as we speak.

This is called the Process Service Scam, in case you want to google it. It is extortion; a shakedown. There are a few ways for them to get you to send money. They will offer to make the "charges" go way for a price is one. Or ask for money to "clear up the matter". Ignore this sort of call, do not call back, that only keeps them calling and they will start with harassing calls that will turn mean and ugly. They sometimes call family members, friends and your place of employment as a way to pressure you.

Thank you. I appreciate you responding and the clarification! Would you by chance know any other information if they had their full SSN? All these messages were too relatable. I will pass on this information.

The important thing to understand is this is a SCAM. They are crooks. There are no papers and cutting contact will not result in the crooks coming to anyone's home or job.

If they have your friend's SSN, so what? So do the Russians, the Chinese etc. There have been so many data leaks from the Feds, state and city agencies, banks, stores, hospitals and such that I would be surprised if they did NOT have SSN's for your friend, you and me.

For those that are worried, you can easily find credit monitoring services so crooks are not trying to open bank accounts or get loans in your name. There are more and more double checks and two-step confirmation processes on internet transactions these days, and some banks let you decide what level of security you want.

These scammers work by fear, threats and manipulation. They are also after quick money. Ignore them and they will move along quickly. Since posts here about the number started only in September, it is likely this is either a new outfit or an older group using a new number. The smart ones will not stick too long with a number, they ditch it and start over as they are exposed.

Thanks again for all of your input. It's greatly appreciated!

This is legitimate they also called me today and tried to have me call a number with a case number to prevent legal action. They stated that the letter had already been sent to me. I knew it was a fraud because a few years ago a similar scammer tried to have me pay a debt that I already paid and I had proof of the repayment. Can you believe that they asked me to send them a copy of the payment. Be careful these scum bags are doing the most.

Quote:

This is legitimate

yet later you said

Quote:

I knew it was a fraud

So which is it?

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

I received a number of calls from the so-called Aaronson Law Group; this time, they called from 877-768-0405. Same pitch as mentioned by countless others regarding a civil lawsuit etc; some credit card that was opened a decade ago and wasn't paid off etc. They proceeded to contact members of my immediate family after they called me, creating a panic. That type sh*t is unworthy of a human being.
I returned the call and spoke with "Aaronson Law Group" employee who was not very convincing, though he tried to be (he was reading from a script). I antagonized him a bit calling his operation and his conduct into question to get him to reveal himself more; it didn't take much, he got agitated and soon went off the script trying to be his best telephone tough guy.
While there is not much we can do against these types except be on alert and know they exist; I think its worth filing a complaint/tip with the FBI https://tips.fbi.gov/home

Called me, and when I would not respond, started texting and calling my family members.  "Legal matter that needs my attention"   yada yada yada.  I work in legal - I know you cannot notify anyone of a court proceeding by email, voicemail or text, so I just ignored it.  Eventually they will stop calling.