866-720-0948

Threatening call where caller said legal action will be taken if you dont call back 866-720-0948 Case number 1103941.  caller id shows a number 323-603-3966. Per Federal & California law debt collector must identify itself as debt collection call and DID NOT so already broken the FTC law

Left a message saying that I need to call 866-720-0948 about pending legal action. They don't even have the right name.

Call came in from unknown number, no caller ID. Female left a voicemail to call 866-720-0948 if I wanted more information about a pending lawsuit against me. The man who answered my call said he was an attorney from the Avery Group and they were suing me for an unpaid credit card debt that I  don't own. Very concerning, because he had my name, address, last 4 of my social security number, and the names of my current credit cards. Very scary.

Whenever someone tells you that they are a "lawyer" or that they work for a lawyer or law firm, the first question you should ask is what state(s) they are registered in and their BAR number for that/those state(s).  Then go to that state and check them out, contact them directly using the information in the state registration, as these crooks have been known to research real law firm names and attorney names and impersonate them.

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 (US MAIL ONLY) postmarked within 5 days of their first contact that contains their name, physical address, the creditor’s name, and the amount of the alleged debt. It also must contains “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 letter 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 letter 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 complaints with the FTC: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#crnt&panel1-1

Also file a complaint with your State Attorney General's office.
List of State AG’s offices:   https://800notes.com/faq/attorney-general

Hi! We got a call from the same number and basically the same situation. Very scary the info they had on my wife! My buddy used to run a collection agency and he said this type of contact broke like 4 FDCPA federal debt collection laws. I think we should team up and file a class action against these people and shut them down for good!

Same thing happened to us. I think we should all open a class action suit against these people.

You go right ahead & get that started then come back & give us the info so everyone else can get in on it.

They scam me to  stopping payment don't do what they want block them

Abusive, harassing, calling my elderly parents