866-709-1745

for past 3 weeks AVS Group who claim to be debt collectors have harassed me about an account which originated in New York, year 2007.  They use this number as their 'issuing agent".  They called me 4 times on the 866, and 3-4 more times with 2 different lines.  Demanded an immediate payment or a court date.

I received several calls from different numbers to call this number for important documentation trying to be delivered.  They claimed to be a debt collector for an account that was back in 2011.  So, I requested proof to be sent to my email address and I still haven’t received anything.  There’s no way they will send you to court for something over 12 years ago and for the amount owed.

1, this is the fake process server scam. Real process servers don't call in advance.
2, email is not a legitimate method of debt validation. Nor are phone calls, faxes, or texts  Only documentation sent via US mail and that documentation must also include proof they're legally entitled to collect the debt

A rude guy claiming to be from AVS kept calling my phone over 15 times back to back after I told him that he was a scammer. They are very vague and will not tell what the so called debt is supposed to be. Then they left a message threanting to come to my job. True debt collectors do not call you out of the blue without documentation being provided to you about the debt. The number that the guy called from was 502-467-8969.

Keeps calling and leaving messages. If you know you don’t have debt, ignore them. Block unknown callers and it will go straight to vmail. They’ve gotten bold and calling out of state family members

They keep calling my family members and not me. The one time they did call me they left an invalid number for me to reach them. Now they’re leaving messages on my family members phones threatening to serve me at home tomorrow or work.

Called 3 times between 10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. A foreign lady left messages on the last two calls claiming to be with AVS and to contact them at 866-709-1745 or they will proceed without my consent. The last call said that it will be the last attempt to contact me and proceeded to ask to call the number of the issuer with a reference case # 501-2****. Have not attempted calling back because of the scam reports I have read online. I Will report if they call back after their final notice call or not.

Received a text message to call the number saying they needed to verify who I was and to give them case number

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

Unwanted Text Messages

Forward unwanted text messages to 7726 so that carriers will block them. Some carriers do not accept that code and if that is the case then contact your carrier about how to block unwanted text messages, however 7726 is accepted in the US, Canada, and Great Britain. Also, never, ever click on a link in a text message as it will probably install something nasty to your phone that you really will not want to deal with and never, ever respond to one because lets them know that they have a good number with someone on the other end.  It will result in more calls and texts.

A lady with a foreign accent just called my cell and asked for my father by name. I told her she had the wrong number but said this was the number on file and that it was urgent I get a message to him. She said she was with AVS (Account Verification Services) and said a "complaint" had been made against my father. When I asked for specifics, she would give none and stated that she had a "sealed federal document" in front of her that she was allowed to open until my dad called 866-709-1745 and gave she gave me a reference number. I googled the number and got this page