I'm sorry if this is in the wrong spot or if I'm doing this wrong but I haven't been on the site in a couple of years; I'm scared and I don't know where else to go. I had something happen today that really freaked me out. It started out as a normal day, I woke up, made coffee, started getting ready for work, then I recieved a strange phone call. Back in 2008 I had signed a contract for an online school for an LPN to RN degree (I have been an LPN for 16 years now) and for the usual reasons that we all experience, life happened and I was unable to finish. After a while, I was unable continue making the payments and eventually I they stopped asking and quite honestly I forgot about it after all this time. The funny thing is, a few months ago I called this school and asked them about signing back up with them and getting back on track with the payments and continuing where I left off with the education and all I was told was that they no longer offered the LPN to RN program... nothing about payment program, which is what I was looking for to get the payments up to date with what I owed them. So back to the original story. The call I recieved today... this woman tells me she is a prosecutor from the Jefferson City (the state capital), and that they currently have 56 counts of bad checks on me; I told her I have never in my life written a bad check... she said it is from The College Network... from all the payments that were NOT made, that when I DIDN'T pay them, they continued to try to collect each month, all these years, just to strenghthen their case against me, and that each one counts as a "bad check"; this completely shocked me to say the least. She continued to threaten me; she had me on the phone for a total of 4 hours; she had information on all of my family members including myself, my husband, my children, my parents, all of our vehicles, our bank accounts, medical information.... the list goes on and on.... she was telling me that telling me that she was "working for me" and she was "going to bat to get me the best settlement" possible. She said they can report me to the State Board of Nursing for ethics and my license could be in trouble. Does anyone know if this is true? She also said if I didn't pay her $14,000 by 6pm she would have me arrested by tomorrow morning; at that point I lost it and almost passed out.. I thought I was going to prison... I know it sounds stupid for a person to fall for such silly tactics from a bill collector but this woman really had me going, she really had me fooled. She had me believing that I messed up so badly that was going to lose my home, my children, my nursing license, my freedom, I thought for sure the police were coming to my house to pick me up in the morning. My family had to convince me that this woman was a fake and even now I'm still shaking and sick to my stomach, she was that convincing. But i'm still concerned about whether or not it can be reported to the State for ethics. I mean, I understand that I signed a contract so yes, I do owe money, I know that, and I will be more than happy to pay them a set amount on a monthly basis. Does anyone have any advice?
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
Thanks everyone for your comments, they all made me feel a little better when I woke up and read them this morning. This entire situation has me so upset it may few days until it's completely out of my system but your input certainly does give some direction and somewhere to go.
She probably is not legit and this is NOT LEGAL to terrorize you. Call your local Attorney Generals office with this information to report it.
Not paying loan/credit obligations is NOT like writing a bad check. These people were trying to scare you illegally. This college network are by many reports are ALLEGED scam artists.
Call the prosecutors office and ask them.
I had A PHONE CALL ONCE that told me they were from the DEA and that they had a list of people who bought medicine online. I told them it was heart guard for my dog. They told me that my name was found in a warehouse in California and that they had deputy's at the local court house waiting to come and arrest me. He gave me a case number and had police radios in the background. He pretended to speak to the federal officers and told them to "stand down" he threatened my children. He told me that they would be removed by social services and that it was no joke. When he asked me to identify myself by repeating my SS number... I began to be suspicious.
As I tried to wrap my brain around this....he was articulate, intelligent...the setting elaborate...he told me they would arrest my husband as well...he had information I didn't think you could get easily...but he did.
It wasn't until he started with that he was on my side and this could all go away for $2,500.00 it wasn't until he said and "how would you like to pay for this ma'am" that it clicked...it was a scam I was outraged!!! I told him in no uncertain terms to come and arrest me and some other unladylike like opinions that can't be repeated here.
When I got off the phone I got afraid....what if this was real so I called the DEA. It was a scam. I filed a fraud report with them, the attorney general, and the local police.
Tell them nothing, give them nothing, and call the police.
Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
She probably is not legit and this is NOT LEGAL to terrorize you. Call your local Attorney Generals office with this information to report it.
Not paying loan/credit obligations is NOT like writing a bad check. These people were trying to scare you illegally. This college network are by many reports are ALLEGED scam artists.
Agreed. Call Jefferson county. It's likely an illegal debt collection practice. I have a sister who is a prosecutor. NEVER would she call a defendant. You would be sent a court notification by official means (certified mail, court officer delivering). She nor her staff have the time to call people for issues like this. A county official wouldn't give you a 6pm deadline to pay. Hopefully you didn't give them any personal information.
As far as knowing your family information, google yourself you would be surprised at what is out there online.
Specializes in Med/Surg, Peds, Geriatrics, Home Health.
I have not ever written a bad check though; that is what was so confusing about the entire situation. And also what should have tipped me off that the woman was not who she said she was. She was trying to convince me that because I had not paid off the remainder of my balance, that it was counted by the bank as "bad checks". In all my years I have never even written a post-dated check, much less a "bad" check, so I knew that I had not intentionally done anything wrong. After doing some checking on the woman I found some things out. First off, the call was from a restricted number... if she was really a "federal prosecutor" as she claimed I don't think it would be a restricted number. Also, I believe if I was truly in some kind of terrible trouble as she claimed, I don't think they would be doing it over the phone, I think they would come to my home and get me or at least speak to me in person, and then I don't think they would order me to come up with a large sum of money withing a few hours time. I really do believe this was all just some terrible, evil debt collectors and their tactics and it is probably illegal. And the silly thing is, if they would have just contacted me and asked me about it I would have set up a payment plan and started paying back what I owe them immediately because if I owe them money, which I do, I will pay them.... but to go about it in such an evil way was an awful thing to do to a person. I don't know how these people sleep at night. Scaring me into thinking everything can be taken from me and my family.
Specializes in Med/Surg, Peds, Geriatrics, Home Health.
Oh my gosh! Yes! This is exactly what it was like, I can't make anyone else understand how real this phone call sounded and why I fell for this. I am not a stupid person and I don't fall for this kind of stuff easily but the things going on in the background made it sound so real! She was saying things like her assistant just walked in, or she put me on hold for 20 minutes to sort it out with the other attorney, all kinds of stupid stuff like that..... but YOU understand because it sounds JUST like your call!
Looks like a scam and stolen identity for me. In Michigan, the similar calls from Lansing, done with severe foreign accent, we're sort of epidemic a couple of years ago. FBI had to educate public about it, and the first thing they recommended was to remove all family related info from internet, because addresses, family details and such were stolen from Facebook accounts. Also, they strongly recommended to quit all online accounts except those absolutely necessary, change passwords on remaining ones, change all credit cards and ask bank or credit union which issued them about the strongest protection plan they could offer.
Something similar happened to one of my techs. He took out a payday loan once. Per my tech, the loan was repaid in full but the payday company kept calling him at work. He kept telling them not to call him at work, and they kept calling. So I told him that I would answer the phones for a while.
Payday guy calls once, I tell him that tech is not available to take his call and to do not call the tech at this number.
Payday guy immediately calls back and is ruder. I repeat the message.
Payday guy immediately calls a third time and starts threatening ME by saying he is going to report me to the police. To which I tell him that I am the tech's supervisor (I was charge that evening, so techically I was supervising him), that he is harassing my staff, that he is officially notified not to call the tech at this number, and that he is welcome to call the cops on me because I would be calling the X City Police myself as soon as our conversation was over. He hung up without saying another word and the calls ceased.
If you do owe money, IMO I would not negotiate with anyone who calls out of the blue. Tell them that you will call the company back yourself...and do NOT call any telephone number that the caller gives you. Go online to the creditor's website or look at one of your last statements for the contact number. And if the creditor did turn your account over to a collection service, they should give you the number of the service so you can contact them.
If you owe money, get a repayment plan started. Even if you're making partial payments, that is often enough to get any collection calls to cease. And making partial payments looks a lot better on the credit report than not making any payments at all.
I would also seek the advice of an attorney, esepcially if this caller and/or your debtor threatens legal action.
What's so sad is how many people DO fall for these scams. They seem so real, and you feel so pressured to pay them off RIGHTNOW, so you don't have time to research anything or cool down and start thinking clearly. They're very cunning, and they know how to get an insane amount of info (which is just downright scary to think about).
In the past 3 weeks or so, I've received 2 different phone call messages on my phone tape from scammers. It was "the IRS is ready to file a lawsuit against me for not paying taxes" yadda yadda yadda. Just like they warn you on the TV about scammers. And they leave a phone number to call back. I like how they end the message with "have a good day".
Reading the OP's original post I suspect the 'scammer' might be someone she knows who's out to pull a fast one on her for some personal reason. If so much personal information is known about OP, I'd guess someone is out to cause her a lot of grief by pushing all her right buttons.
A few years back, my Dad got one of those "you've just won a lottery (out of state) for lots of money. Here's your 'official' starter check' but just cash it AFTER you've sent us money for 'fees' etc etc etc."
There was a real check enclosed from a real Arkansas bank. Turns out the real checks had been stolen from the bank and were now void.
I knew it was a phoney baloney scam as it was mailed to my Dad AT MY ADDRESS and we don't live together. But it was really official looking!! I could just see my Dad being suckered because all he could see would be the $$$ dollar signs.
People who scam others, esp the elderly or other vulnerables, should be skinned! After being drawn & quartered and left out to dry rot!
The scam has been going on for at least the last three or four years. They usually call claiming to be collecting on a student loan. Then they say that you're going to be arrested. Then they say that they somehow represent law enforcement. They will also spoof various different non-existent (apparent) law firms. They try to tell you that being in debt or defaulting on a student loan is a crime and that thy can somehow prosecute you. Sometimes they say they are federal agents or local prosecutors. There's just no end to what they will say. They come up with all sorts of crazy scenarios. And of course they say that being in debt will cause you to lose your professional license. Don't fall for it. Do not pay them any money or agree to. Ignore and block their calls.
Being in ordinary civil debt is not a crime. Defaulting on a student loan is not a crime. You cannot be arrested for it or lose your professional license. We do not have debtors prisons in the US.
Just because a voice on the telephone claims you owe a debt does not mean you owe it
If a voice on the telephone claims you owe a debt:
1. Demand the person give you his or her name, company name, and address
2. Demand a debt validation letter by US mail. E-mail no good.
3. Do not pay the collection agent or anyone else a DIME until the debt is validated.
Of course they won't do this, no scammer ever will, so simply block their calls and ignore them.
Debt Collection | Consumer Information (Threatening arrest or criminal process in order to collect a civil debt is a clear violation of the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act)
This is wrong advice, in my state at least. My state can, and WILL suspend a nursing license if you fail to pay back the loans you acquired in order to get that degree/license.
No, outstanding debt can't make you lose your license, but it does sound like they were trying to scam you. Did she say what agency/department she was calling from? I'd look that department up directly and call that number, not the one she gave you, and tell them what happened. I NEVER give payment or personal information over the phone unsolicited; I always call back to verify. Call the College Network (which has faced complaints for false claims) and ask if they show those same records or who their collection agency is. Check with your bank to see if someone really was trying to withdraw money without your consent and if your account balance has been affected. Good luck, but you'll be okay.
Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN
20,908 Posts
Not paying loan/credit obligations is NOT like writing a bad check. These people were trying to scare you illegally. This college network are by many reports are ALLEGED scam artists.
Call the prosecutors office and ask them.
I had A PHONE CALL ONCE that told me they were from the DEA and that they had a list of people who bought medicine online. I told them it was heart guard for my dog. They told me that my name was found in a warehouse in California and that they had deputy's at the local court house waiting to come and arrest me. He gave me a case number and had police radios in the background. He pretended to speak to the federal officers and told them to "stand down" he threatened my children. He told me that they would be removed by social services and that it was no joke. When he asked me to identify myself by repeating my SS number... I began to be suspicious.
As I tried to wrap my brain around this....he was articulate, intelligent...the setting elaborate...he told me they would arrest my husband as well...he had information I didn't think you could get easily...but he did.
It wasn't until he started with that he was on my side and this could all go away for $2,500.00 it wasn't until he said and "how would you like to pay for this ma'am" that it clicked...it was a scam I was outraged!!! I told him in no uncertain terms to come and arrest me and some other unladylike like opinions that can't be repeated here.
When I got off the phone I got afraid....what if this was real so I called the DEA. It was a scam. I filed a fraud report with them, the attorney general, and the local police.
Tell them nothing, give them nothing, and call the police.