unknown debt, attempt to collect

[Michae]

Hello. My name is Michael ****** and I have been contacted by a Robert ******.
he states that he is part of the National Bureau of Criminal ID. He has my SS# and a file # of ********.
He is claiming that there is a bad check that was written years ago and the are about to formally charge me in the legal system. I have agreed to make payment arrangments if the debt can be verified and this is indeed taking place.He is unable to verify the debt with location or date, or amount of original check' he also states that it isnt on my credit report already. How can I verify to see if this is real? I have requested verification to no result. what do I do?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Michael - It's quite possible that this is a debt collector trying to fool you. I haven't heard of a "National Bureau of Criminal ID." You're probably best getting his name and contact number so that you can call him back and then doing an investigation by yourself. These days, chances are good that telephone based calls for money constitutes fraud. Every week I receive at least 3-5 calls from people claiming to be able to fix my computer which has a virus or some other excuse for me to give them my credit card. Unless someone can verify all the details of the debt - including the judgment against you if that is what he is claiming (since you'll need that to collect the debt), then I would first make the assumption it is fraud. If you suspect fraud you can report the telephone number to the FTC, who are very interested and vigilant in preventing telephone fraud. The FTC Phone Scam information page is an excellent resource which you may want to review. Good luck.

 

[Proserpina]

Unfortunately yes, this is a scam. A quick web-search of the remarkably generic "company name" will result in more than a few scam alerts.

You'd be best off just ignoring them. But I have heard of people asking to speak with the caller's supervisor to discuss the statute of limitations which often results in the caller becoming terrifically flustered, promising to have someone call you back and oh by the way you could you please give us your credit card details anyway just in case.

If the State wanted to prosecute, the chances of them waiting until the last minute to do so are low they barely register. Why? Well, there's something of a logic problem here. If the amount was high enough to trigger an indepth investigation, it would have happened long before now and you'd be painfully aware of it. And if the amount was negligible, the State would most likely decline to act and instead call it a civil matter. It can't be both

What angers and saddens me though is not everybody realizes that you can use the Internet to confirm the legitimacy of a caller, and many people just wouldn't think of it being a possible scam because they're so trusting.

I shall step down from my soapbox for now.

 

[Proserpina]

Just one more thing.

There used to be a National Bureau of Criminal Identification.

They were absorbed into what became the FBI, almost 100 years ago (yes, that's one hundred). I find it hard to believe you've got a 100 year old bad check sitting around (And they had nothing to do with fraud or bad checks anyway)

Please follow Michael's advice, too - report the entire thing. The scammers will keep going until we stop 'em.

 

[army judge]

Hello. My name is Michael ****** and I have been contacted by a Robert ******.
he states that he is part of the National Bureau of Criminal ID. He has my SS# and a file # of ********.
He is claiming that there is a bad check that was written years ago and the are about to formally charge me in the legal system. I have agreed to make payment arrangments if the debt can be verified and this is indeed taking place.He is unable to verify the debt with location or date, or amount of original check' he also states that it isnt on my credit report already. How can I verify to see if this is real? I have requested verification to no result. what do I do?

SCAM, just ignore this.
There are ILLEGITIMATE ways to obtain much more than social insecurity numbers, too.
If it were a 10 year old bad check, it's uncollectable.
If I were you, don't discuss ANYTHING on the telephone.
Tell the person to send you a letter.
If they ask for your address, tell them get it the same way they got your telephone number.
Finally, NONE of us have any legal duty to answer questions or even talk to anyone.
That said, simply decline to discuss ANYTHING at ANYTIME.
That's one of your rights that millions of people have died for us to inherit, cherish, and enjoy.
Use your rights citizen, former president Washington would have it no other way!!!!

 

[disagreeable]

Tell him you are impressed with the fact you managed to get away with this one for so long and would appreciate him sending you a book of them so you can write some more.