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Is this a scam?
Cambiata
Commander ShepardThe likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
Commander ShepardThe likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
Today I got a call from my mom, while I was at work. She left me a message saying that someone had called her saying they urgently needed to get in contact with me, she gave a name I don't recognize, and told me to call her back if I wanted the number for this person. When I called my mom, she told me a "Mr. Hoover" or "Mr. Hover" had wanted to contact me, had supposedly tried multiple times to try to contact me, that and that it was urgent. She said from the background noises that it sounded like a law agency. The number has a (312) area code (I don't know if we're allowed to post other people's phone numbers here, so I will refrain from doing so), which is Chicago, IL. I live in Dallas, TX. A google of the number says it belongs to "Harris & Harris", which is the name that was said when I called the number. When I called the number said I wanted to know why I had been called at a number that I haven't lived at in 7 years. The gentleman on the line said he would try to help me out, and claimed that he was working on behalf of the city of Dallas. He said the call was being recorded, then asked my name, which I verified, then asked me my address, which I flatly refused to give. I told him that I expect the whole thing was a scam, I just wanted to know what the scam was about. He repeated that he works for the city of Dallas, and I told him I didn't believe for one second that he does. At that point he said he couldn't help me without me giving information (probably true, even if it isn't a scam) and that I should contact the city of Dallas.
Was I too cautious in refusing to give my address? I realized only during the call that I should have spoofed my phone number or called from Skype or something, since they obviously hadn't had my phone number before now. After the call ended I immediately searched the Dallas county home page for outstanding warrants/tickets, and there were none under my name and DL#. Who would I call at the city of Dallas to find out, assuming it's not bullshit?
Was I too cautious in refusing to give my address? I realized only during the call that I should have spoofed my phone number or called from Skype or something, since they obviously hadn't had my phone number before now. After the call ended I immediately searched the Dallas county home page for outstanding warrants/tickets, and there were none under my name and DL#. Who would I call at the city of Dallas to find out, assuming it's not bullshit?
"If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
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Fuck 'em
If it's 'important', they'll send a letter. Ask your mom if you've been getting any rando junk mail.
I called 311 to see if they could tell me anything, and the lady I spoke to said the city of Dallas didn't do anything of that nature (ie, having a law agency contact someone on behalf of the city).
I'm glad for the agreement that it seems skeezy to other people as well. I'll see if I get any mail or further calls. Though from the sound of it it's my parents who are going to get harassed, and they don't know how to screen their calls.
if you do talk to them again, just tell them to only communicate with you in writing in the future. On the off chance it's a legit collections call (unlikely coming from a city but whatever), they'll be doing that anyway.
ed: for reference when you owe a city/county money it's either muni taxes, utility service, or some kind of fine. They don't contract that out to collections; they just send you notice and eventually issue summons and a bench warrant if the amount's large enough (police power has its perks.) So unless there's some highly specific circumstance that you'd presumably remember which caused you to become indebted to the city of dallas, it's not that.
It's possible it's ID theft fishing, but more likely it's data gathering for some type of consumer database
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
Unfortunately the only way to deal with really difficult people is to make it more annoying for them to deal with you than it is for you to deal with them.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is what Creagan is referencing here.
You basically need to tell them to only contact you via certified letter. After that, anytime they call you or anyone you know, or harass you in any form beyond that, you can sue them. Each and every time. $1000 per violation, paid directly to you.
So, keep a log after you tell them to only contact you by certified letter and ask them for proof of the debt. Ask them their name, who they work for, and log the time. Then politely inform them that they're in violation of the FDCPA and they'll be hearing from your lawyer soon, and hang up. Once you've contacted a lawyer, they'd probably advice you to give out their number directly.
That's generally how that works.
Don't give any information. If they ask you to tell your address for the letter, ask them to repeat what they have and you'll confirm.
Since this is phone contact I don't know how you would handle, but generally never admit the debt is yours, demand that they do correspondence in writing (do not give them an address if they don't have it, that's their problem), and absolutely do not pay them any money (this can actually reactivate discharged or dead debt and make you liable for charges + interest - or whatever the debt collector says you owe).
don't worry not the boba fett kind
Is there any chance that you have any kind of warrant in your name in Dallas or know anyone who may have committed a crime in that area?
http://harriscollect.com/
"Harris & Harris is among the leading receivable recovery solution providers in the nation"
20 seconds on google would say it's a debt collection based on Medical bills or Utility bills, without further info I can't confirm that this is the same place that contacted you but I'd be willing to wager it was.
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One thing they may do is - when you tell them on the phone to only contact you by mail, they will continue calling and then deny that you ever told them that. They may demand that you fax, mail or email the request. However you do it; do it in a way that is traceable and provable in court if necessary.
A quick way to do that would to video yourself answering the phone, putting them on "speaker phone" and informing them that you're going to record the call and that all further communication will be understood as consent to recording- including future phone calls from the company to yourself or relatives. Insist that they verbally state they understand what you have just stated and hanging up without replying will be received as understanding.
I'm pretty sure that will take care of any state laws requiring both parties consent to a recording being used as evidence in court. At the very least it'll piss them off.
This isn't necessarily the case. I know my speeding ticket last year got sent off to collections, rather than issue a bench warrant, which I found interesting (because I thought the same thing you did). And that was a legitimate from-an-officer ticket (county sheriff), no camera or anything. I believe our city will send trash/water bills outstanding to collections too.
Seems likely enough that it's this collections agency, not a straight-up phishing scam.
There's no such thing as 'too cautious' when it comes to phone calls from unknown people. You definitely did the right thing by refusing to give them any information.
I honestly wouldn't even bother calling the city; if there's a problem, they should be sending you letters / invoices, not random phone calls to the wrong address. If they start trying to harass you over the phone, like folks have already said, tell them to stop.
I received a bill today from H & H Ltd of Chicago IL for an unpaid toll bill in San Diego CA.
I don't even live in San Diego... I live in Texas. I haven't set foot in the state of California for over 15 years.
The H & H letter provides date and time of the toll and the location and even the license plate number.
November 30th 2018 at exactly 4:30PM on the South Bay Expressway in southern San Diego county.
It's funny because at that exact time I was at my job in Troy Texas... and the license plate number doesn't even match either of my two vehicles.
The California street address they listed for me , I've never been to ,or even heard of.
But somehow they managed to get my mailing address here in Texas... Strange. How did they attach my name to this toll charge.
I phoned H & H to inquire... The person I spoke with lied to me several times regarding this bill and demanded immediate payment, threatened to have this placed on my credit report and gave me a false email address where I could check the legitimacy of the City of San Diego claim.
So I started doing so checking and the BBB has numerous complaints logged for H & H... and I found some other information about how this operation runs it's scam... holding someone's credit report hostage until the payments are made.
So YES! This is a complete scam operation.
So... Now I have to waste my time and effort and probably even a considerable amount of money to defeat this unlawful SCAM...
Does anyone have any advise on the best way to deal with these assholes?
Don't give them any personal identifying information. The less info they have the harder it is for them to pin a false dept on you. Keep an eye on your credit report. If they do ding your report you can contest it and the fact that you don't own the car in question might be enough. Here's some more useful info Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
*edit* Perhaps call the DMV to check and make sure there is no "mystery car" in your name. Also, explain to them your situation and see if there is some kind of official proof you can get from them of all cars in your name in 2018. In case you need to contest a credit ding or other shenanigans.