952-658-0650

Claimed to be from Lauren, Davis, and Associates. I cannot find this law firm anywhere, let alone in my state. Claimed I owed money from a Cashnet loan, which I never took out as I had never heard of this company, that was sent to collections in 2016. I never received any collections attempts from a company claiming to be Cashnet or representing them. I tried asking for a disbursement date of the alleged loan, and the person I talked to said they weren't privy to that info. Yet they were privy to the last 4 of my SSN, my employer, and my bank name. The last 4 of my SSN was valid, though that's easy to get the last 4, the bank and employer are 10+ years out of date, and I did not correct or update them. I was informed that they had tried to pull the money back and couldn't, so sent it to collections. They said there was a petition for a bank lien ready to be filed and I told them that with the lack of willingness to prove the validity of the debt or provide any documentation that this was tipping the needle towards scam territory. They said I could get the proof of the validity of the debt during discovery and refused to send me any letter or documentation to prove the debt, but that if I did want to dispute this I will have to convince a judge of it. So I told them I'll call my (old) bank for records, and said, "Eh, I have PTO, I can fight this" in a very unbothered tone. They wished me luck and disconnected. Very polite the entire time, no attempts to pressure or scare me. Seemed almost apologetic which is honestly why I was mildly concerned this may have been valid or that I might have been the victim of identity theft. 99.99% sure this was a scam attempt.

Why do you think that they are a "law firm"?

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.

The fake process server/location specialist scam usually contains:

They mention that they have received a Fax document or that some sort of complaint has “come across my desk” 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 they 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 have to be served within a certain amount of time.  Remember that you can always call the local courthouse to see if there is actually 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