Phone Calls Pretending to be From Attorney’s Office

From another attorney in a national consumer listserv:

Yesterday at a 341 meeting, a client was asking about the Saturday call from “my office” two Saturdays before. It from a male assistant that said a fax came into my office on the Friday night before the phone call that my client would be arrested on Monday if $600 was not paid immediately. Because the call was from my number they believed the person when they said that this particular debt (from 2011) was not dischargeable and could not be listed in the bankruptcy and had to be paid before Monday or a warrant would be issued. The number that showed up on their cell phone was my telephone number. (I do not have a male assistant) The call was deliberately on Saturday to prevent my clients from calling my office and following up. They panicked and borrowed the money and sent it by Western Union. (The alleged creditor was an internet creditor listed on the petition.) We don’t know if it was really that creditor or someone that got access to the bankruptcy petition and used the information there to pull off this scheme. When I informed the other attorneys at this 341 meeting. I was told that these scum bags can emulate any telephone number and have it show up on the cell phone. There is currently a problem with calls from state court phone numbers alleging arrest unless a bill is immediately paid by Western Union.

My warning – we can no longer assume that the caller id on our phones is correctly identifying the caller’s identification.  Make sure to talk to your attorney whenever you are contacted by someone who alleges you can be arrested for not paying your bills.  Many debt buyers will stoop to any form of fraud or criminal acts.  Do not let anyone bully you into paying any money without checking out the validity of their claims.

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