Attorney General Warns Of New Debt Collection Scam

New York City residents are the target of a new debt collection scam, this time from bogus attorneys claiming to represent the New York State Attorney General’s Office.

New Yorkers have been receiving notices, printed on a doctored attorney general letterhead, claiming to be a “District Court Final Warning” letter, according to state officials. The notices use confusing legalese to give the impression that the attorney general is investigating them for the failure to pay a past due debt.

The letters – which include false claims like “Collateral Check Fraud,” “Theft by Deception,” and “Violation of Banking Regulations” – threaten criminal action and arrest if the debts are not paid.

The letters are often received as a PDF attachment to an email, which appears to be signed by an actual New York attorney. Letters may also contain a phony email address at the New York State Department of Financial Services, such as dfs.ny.gov@usa.com, or a fake email for another government agency, and use a return address of the New York Civil courts.

Notices sometimes pressure victims into sending payments via “FTC regulated vouchers” or PayPal. Often, victims will be directed to call a New York number with a 347 or 646 area code, or a number that appears to be based in another state – though the numbers all connect to someone outside of the United States.

Victims who have called those numbers have been verbally threatened with arrest, the loss of their job, or worse. In at least one case, a consumer was told to go to another location and call for additional instructions on how to repay the fake debt.

This alert comes just one week after New Yorkers reported receiving unsolicited phone calls from another scammer posing as an attorney from the state attorney general’s office. Last week, an alert was issued regarding the phone scam, in which callers falsely purported to be attorney Sam Wilson from the Attorney General’s Office in order to threaten consumers with a lawsuit and possible arrest. The scammer instructed consumers to call (347) 779-0198, a number that is associated with other phone scams nationwide, to communicate about the litigation.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman warned the public to be wary of threatening debt collection notices and is urging New Yorkers to be vigilant consumers and to report instances of fraud to his office.

“Now more than ever, New Yorkers must be on guard when it comes to suspicious notices regarding debt collection or pending litigation: We have recently seen an uptick in the number of consumers targeted by scammers impersonating attorneys from my office,” said Schneiderman. “Keep in mind that government agencies will never threaten you harm over failure to pay a debt and will never solicit personal information over the phone.”

Here are some tips from the Attorney General’s Office on how to avoid government impostor debt collection scams:

• Legitimate government agencies will never threaten arrest, job loss, or any other harm for failure to pay a debt.

• If you owe money, you should receive a notice in writing that identifies the debt collection agency, the amount of the debt, and the name of the original creditor. The notice should also provide you with an opportunity to dispute the debt.

• Do not call the phone numbers on any notice that appears to be suspicious. Hang up on suspicious phone calls you receive and do not provide an unknown caller with personal financial or other sensitive information.

• If you receive unsolicited email from an address you do not recognize, do not reply, open any attachments, or visit any links associated with the email.

Consumers who believe they have been victims of any debt collection scams are urged to file complaints or call 800-771-7755.