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David N. Kirkman
Task Force Alert Chair
Asst Attorney General
Consumer Protection
NC Department of
Justice
P.O. Box 629
Raleigh, NC 27602
919-716-6000

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North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services
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TO NC SENIOR CONSUMER FRAUD TASK FORCE MEMBERS

******Alert #271******

Callers Pose as Law Enforcement Officers, Attempt to "Shake Down" Call Recipients

The Attorney General just issued the following alert about highly abusive callers who pose as law enforcement officials who claim to be collecting on a debt. Many call recipients owe no such debt at all, while some may have taken out so-called payday loans on-line.

Roy Cooper
North Carolina Attorney General

For Immediate Release
June 13, 2011

Contact: Noelle Talley
(919) 716-6484

Watch our for calls scammers posing as cops, AG Cooper Warns

Raleigh: Telemarketing scammers claiming to be law enforcement are threatening people to pay them money or face arrest, Attorney General Roy Cooper warned consumers today.

“Don’t let scammers intimidate you into paying debts you don’t owe,” Cooper said. “These calls come from crooks, not real law enforcement officers.”

Consumers in North Carolina and elsewhere have recently reported getting calls from the “Federal State Bureau of North Carolina,” which is not an actual law enforcement organization. The callers tell people they owe a debt and must pay it now or go to jail. The threatening calls come from (336) 505-7092, a Google Voice number that could be used by scammers anywhere in the world.

Both the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division and the State Bureau of Investigation have received reports about the fraudulent calls.

This is not the first time Cooper’s office has heard of debt collection scammers posing as police. Even though the fraudulent calls originate overseas, the scammers sometimes spoof the phone number of a real law enforcement agency to make their calls appear to come from a local Sheriff or police department. Some of these collection calls are made to people who owe money on Internet payday loans, while other people who get the calls have never taken out a payday loan.

If you receive a similar call:

  • Don’t give out your personal information, particularly your bank account and credit card information.
  • Check your credit reports for free at www.annualcreditreport.com or 1-877-322-8228 to spot any unauthorized credit cards or loans taken out in your name.
  • Consider a free security freeze to block unauthorized use of your credit. For information about how to get place a security freeze on your credit, visit www.ncdoj.gov or call 1-877-5-NO-SCAM.
  • Remember that legitimate debt collectors will provide you with written proof of a debt. They are not allowed to use profanity or threaten you with violence or arrest, and they must follow rules about when and how they contact you.

Consumers can report debt collection scams to the Attorney General’s Office by calling 1-877-5-NO-SCAM or filing a consumer complaint online. ###


******End of Alert******

June 13, 2011

 

David N. Kirkman
Assistant Attorney General
Task Force Alerts Chair
Consumer Protection Division
Office of Attorney General Roy Cooper
9001 Mail Processing Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-9001
Tel. 919-716-6000

 

 

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