866-558-0195

A person from 866-558-0195 called my wife and her parents and left a message that they were a law firm representing a credit card company and that i owed $4000 from 13 years ago. This is totally untrue. When I called them back they tried to get me to settle for $1992 or I would be taken to court... When I told the guy I need the name of his law firm and the address, he said I was rude and hung up. Honestly, I'm a little freaked out because this guy had the last for digits of my social and my wife's parents phone number. Beware ot hese guys!

Debt Extortion Scammers

When ever they get annoyed or angry when asked who the company is, it is ALWAYS a scammer.
The vague scare tactic message is designed to panic a victim into calling back.

Most debt collectors will use a certain amount of pressure to convince you to pay the debt. After all, they often don't get paid unless you pay. Be suspicious of a debt collector who uses an unusual amount of pressure to get you to pay immediately, particularly if they also use scare tactics to get you to pay right away. For example, a debt collector is scamming you if it :

• threatens you with a lawsuit and tells that you can avoid the lawsuit by paying right away
• Says a Process Server  or Courier is coming with papers to sign
• Threatens to call / go to your place of employment
• Insists you have been notified, served or are non-compliant via phone message(s)
• Refuses to give a company name or verifiable Contact source
• Refuses to send proof of debt via US mail

A sure sign of a debt collection scam is a collector that wants to you to pay via wire transfer or another method that can't be traced. If the payment method can't be traced, you'll have a harder time getting the authorities involved.

If the creditor sounds completely foreign, or you know you never had an account with that business, there's a chance it's a scam. Never pay a collection you don't recognize. You have the right to request written proof of the debt from the debt collector before you send payment.

https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/fake-abusive-debt-collectors
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer ... ollection-scams
https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Consumer/Publications/PhonyDebtCollectionScams.asp
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2019/02/ftc ... llection-scheme
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/08/pha ... onate-law-firms

Quote:

Here are some ways to find out if a debt collector is legitimate.
•You received a letter in the mail. ...
•The agency is licensed in your state. ...
•The collector can verify your personal details. ...
•You can request information about the debt. ...
•There's more than one method of payment. ...
•A company works with you, not against you.

Source: https://www.bankrate.com/personal-finance/deb ... ctor-is-a-scam/

Anyone can get the last 4 of your social. Tell them to send you something in writing, which they will usually say they already did. Plus if that debt is 13 yrs old probably past statues of limitations in your state.

They should take advice from someone who doesn't know the difference between a statue and a statute?

statue
noun
stat·ue | \ˈsta-(ˌ)chü \
Definition of statue
: a three-dimensional representation usually of a person, animal, or mythical being that is produced by sculpturing, modeling, or casting
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/statue

statute
noun
stat·ute | \ˈsta-(ˌ)chüt, -chət\
Definition of statute
1 : a law enacted by the legislative branch of a government
2 : an act of a corporation or of its founder intended as a permanent rule
3 : an international instrument setting up an agency and regulating its scope or authority
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/statute

This would be a "Statue" of Limitations:


This however is a "Statute" of Limitations:

I had the same type of situation happened to me a few days ago from this phone number. They said I owed Capital One money they called my parents both of their cell phone numbers and my sisters. They wanted to know where I could be served paperwork for court but they were also willing to take a payment over the phone which I don't believe is possible if they are just a service company where they serve papers to people.

That's the same thing happened to me yesterday. He would tell me his name nor let me speak to his supervisor. He also had the last 4 digits of my ssn.

A person just called my wife from number 503-837-3083 and said she needed to call the number you mentioned 866-558-0195 and gave some so called case number, this is totally bogus.
I googled the number she gave my wife and your post came up and after reading it I thank you for posting this the information about those scammers.

These people just called us claiming to be Douglas Law Firm and stating my wife was in default on a student loan from 2010 and went default in 2013 and in Iowa they are allowed to collect up to 10 years from the default date. Stated they are filing a civil suit and can get a lean on my house, garnishment on mine and my wife's check. Here is the wierd part, they knew previous addresses and from a student loan we have never heard of and when I asked about why this loan is not listed on my wife's student loans. Gov site, she replied it would not be on a credit report until everything was said and done so she skirted the question about the government student loan site.