(Springfield, MO 1/31/2013) Your Better Business Bureau serving Southwest Missouri would like to warn consumers not to fall prey to threats by telephone.
BBB representatives have received numerous calls over the past few weeks from consumers who have been notified via telephone that they have large sums of debt due to creditors and refusal to pay is threatened with harsh legal challenges.
The threatening callers are attempting to scare consumers into giving credit card information and social security numbers over the telephone immediately. The debts consumers supposedly owe have reached numbers near $800. When consumers question the company they are informed the debt is for, they are assured no debt is on file for them.
BBB offers the following advice if a consumer receives such a call:
- Never give any personal information such as social security numbers and credit
or banking information. - Request for information regarding the debt in writing
for verification purposes. - Call the companies who the debts are supposedly
with to verify and report the call. - Report the calls to the Federal Trade
Commission at 877-382-4357, they are most likely violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices.
Consumers who receive these calls and have contact information for the supposed debt collectors are encouraged to report a complaint at www.bbb.org.
For more information contact your BBB at 417-862-4222.
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