RELEASE: Fight Fraud Taskforce Warns of Frightening Calls from Fake Debt Collectors Who Threaten Jail

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — February 17, 2012

CONTACT:  Elisabeth Daniels, Public Information Officer

PHONE: (702) 486-2756   E-MAIL: edaniels@business.nv.gov

Fight Fraud Taskforce Warns of Frightening Calls from Fake Debt Collectors Who Threaten Jail

Las Vegas – The Fight Fraud Taskforce has received several calls from consumers about phony debt collectors.  The scammers try to scare consumers into paying debts that are not theirs.

The fake debt collectors call and say you will be arrested and thrown in jail unless you send money immediately. The amounts claimed range from a couple hundred dollars to several thousand.  The fraudsters use the names of real law enforcement entities, like the Sheriff’s Department.

The goal of the scam is to scare the person getting the call into sending money via Western Union or MoneyGram or to give up their bank details to hit your bank account, in order to prevent the police from coming to arrest you in the next few hours.

The scammers typically use telephone lines with forged IDs, so they are not even in the United States although they pretend to be. They use rented numbers for return phone calls. After a short period of time, they dump the number and start using a new number.

In a nasty twist, the fraudsters use public information to obtain employment information and call employers to try to collect the bogus debt.

If you are contacted by one of these scammers:

·         Remember that, if someone calls you demanding money to prevent your arrest, it is a scam. No debt collector has the authority to arrest you or put you in jail. 

·         Be sure to confirm the legitimacy of the call AND the debt. 

·         Do not provide or confirm any bank account, credit card or other personal information over the phone.

·         File a complaint online with the Federal Trade Commission at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

·         File a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigation at https://tips.fbi.gov.

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