Scammer threatens woman with arrest if she doesn't pay up
PORTLAND, Ore. - A scammer held a woman hostage on her cell phone telling her that if she hung up, she would go to jail.
Cindy Batten lost $600 during that phone call. And while she admits she missed some of the warning signs, the con artist was a professional who used her personal information, persuasion and a ticking clock to convince her that he was legitimate.
It all started when she got a call from a supposed debt collector who gave her an immediate deadline and told her that if she hung up, she would end up on the wrong side of the law.
"He said if you don't make payment arrangements with us right now to pay the debt, then someone will show up at your place of business to arrest you," Batten said.
Batten was having some financial troubles and had recently declared bankruptcy. She was so frazzled that she walked down the hall to her boss and asked for an advance.
With the scammer still on the phone, she drove to her bank to cash the check and then to the nearest Walgreens. The caller told Batten to buy two pre-paid cash cards for a total of $600 and scratch off the back. She then gave him the numbers.
When it was all said and done and she returned to her office, she did some research online and realized that she had been had.
"That's money that I haven't even received yet," she said. "I got an advance on my next paycheck. I have bills to pay and I didn't have an extra $600 to give someone."
The Warning Signs
- Never be pressured by a deadline. There is always time to stop, take a breath and do some research.
- Police do not arrest people for falling behind on payments. It is nearly always a civil matter.
- If a creditor wants you to pay with a pre-paid cash card, don't!
If she doesn't buy a bridge I have for sale before she closes her web browser, I will facepalm a puppy.
Can't you tell the bill collectors to "F" off? I mean, what could they possible do about it. I get dozens of calls for 4 different people that used to have my phone numbers and I tried to be nice and tell them that I've had these numbers for the last 4 years but the don't listen. So, now if I'm not busy I lead them down a happy trail of vulgarity.
How dumb can you be... Come on now... She is terribly naive .....
Outside of the first obvious signs, anything that involves pre-paid cash cards is an instant scam, but I can't understand how her boss advised her to do this? That makes no sense.
@deejm2112 I think all the boss did was provide her with a pay advance, which doesn't make any sense to me, I'd think a "boss" would have more common sense.
I'm sorry for her predicament, but if we pause and use common sense, it can prevent these sorts of things from happening. I'm surprised her boss even went through with a pay advance without cautioning her.
i wonder, was the scammer the U.S. government?
First thing I do when someone tells me not to hang up.... is HANG UP.
That's how you do it... Do not hang up!......Click
A fool and his money are soon partying
Gawd, People are IDIOTS!!
Bankruptcy, falls for a scam like this, gets an advance on her pay.  I get the feeling she may not be a financial genius.
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@Fruity Pebbles google "Telemarketer calls murder scene" funniest thing I've heard.
@hokeywolf @Fruity Pebbles The last time a Telemarketer called me I awsered with "911, How can I help you" Click went the phone. I love Tomm Mabe. I think he's great... But now there is a new one that is calling me. The Caller ID said"FRAUDULENT CALL" they are wanting me to give them access to my comp. When I question them they instantly hang up. Can't wait for the next call...:)
I would have responded with " You know the neat thing about cell phones? Can you keep talking for another 60 seconds? I want to try my new phone tracking app, and forwarded it to the authorities and another neat thing is, you are being recorded. To add, I support the Second Amendment and send who ever you want out. Now, go spank yourself and get a real job."
on one occasion Indid accept a call from a collector. he asked if somenwoman wasnliving here I said, no, and then he asked me if some other person lives here, I said no, and then he asked well who lives here, I said I lives here..and I has a gun, a dog, and I hasn a computer tracking your real number. and then just to be crazy n I said I see Your about 6 foott one , shoulder length hair dark brown withe hazel eyes. The guy said oh my God who are you, I said I am who I am. no more no less. . He hung up. I think he had heart failure. at any rate it was a fun prank lol.
Personally I think the guy hung up as he was about tonbust up laughing.@lee986321 I see that your ability to use poor English to lessen your credibility is still in tact.
He can has cheeseburger.
@JGalt "I has a gun!" LOL
I never accept calls from numbers I do not know NEVER! and aaby text that comes my way, well , I use the "report this number as spam " with in the call/message log. No more problems.
@lee986321Â You realize a lot of those "to stop receiving these messages" statements are just a way to verify your phone number is active, right?
@Fake Pilot Nope, that would require Lee to use brain cells, and there aren't very many left to use.
I got a call from one of these axxholes day before yesterday. I told him very pointedly to send whomever they like. I managed to get this fool to start screaming at me so loud my cat woke up. I told him I had no debt with his "client" and wouldn't pay any creditor that threatened me. I told him whoever he sent would likely get killed on my doorstep. No LEO would be party to a civil collection anyway without prior court action and MONTHS of back and forth. If someone calls you demanding immediate payment tell them to get bent and hangup.Â
if these dumbasses called me,id tell them to f ck off.......go ahead and give it a try.....
@Craig w Okay, what's your number?
@Craig w I even say that to real bill collectors!!
I keep wondering why I never get these people calling me.Â
Personally, I'd love it. Knowing that I probably shouldn't, I would be hard pressed to not waste an hour or so of their time just to be an a...s...s.
@MarkKpic Oh I don't know - do you by chance pay your bills on time?
These calls have been going round for a long while now. All you have to do is google the phone number and you will probably see 800 notes and who calls us etc. I like 800 otes, they have a lot of info there as well as all these scammers listed.  These kind of calls are listed in several sites though.Â
They are scam calls, meant to intimidate and harass you into giving them $$! They will even say they have a warrant for your arrest and the cops are on the way right now yada yada blah blah blah. Don't answer the phone if you do not recognize the number. Hit talk, hit end rapidly so your phone does not make the call connection. I get very few of these calls doing that. Â
@Khre'Riov Ael i-Mhiessan t'Rllaillieu How do you know you get very few of these calls if you immediately hang up?  That doesn't make sense.
@Fake Pilot All you have to do is google the phone number, places like 800 notes come up. Then you can leave a message (report) and read through all the other posted notes to see what was pulled on people under these phone numbers.   Other places are listed as well, whocalledus is another one.
@Khre'Riov Ael i-Mhiessan t'Rllaillieu ~  Yep... I'll tell you... if my phone rings, I check the Caller ID; if it's a name or number I don't know - or if it's an 800 #, but no name - I pick the receiver up, then hang it up again immediately.  I won't even answer these kinds of calls... even if they're not scammers, I don't do phone surveys of any kind, and I don't buy things or services over the phone... period.
Quite often that's what I'll do, however, in the last 6 weeks, my bank has called me via an 800# to verify potential fraud (and there was debit card fraud that just occurred earlier that day, but I called my local bank to then be directed to their fraud department to verify this before discussing further), and then just yesterday, another 800 # call, this time apparently my credit card was fraudulently used at a gas station out of state, and yes, it was a valid call. Not all 800 #'s are scams or surveys, I'm still reluctant to answer all 800# calls, but there are valid calls from 800 #'s
@margay1@pdxdThat is why I run the phone numbers. Google them, if 800 notes and who called us shows up, then you want to read them and leave a complaint as well. Legit calls don't show up on those sites..
@pdxd ~ Very true... which is why I check Caller ID before just disconnecting the call...  If it looks like it could be a legitimate call, I'll pick it up, then go from there...
@margay1 @Khre'Riov Ael i-Mhiessan t'Rllaillieu I need an airhorn every time they call. That might solve the problem. =)
@washcomom @margay1 @Khre'Riov Ael i-Mhiessan t'Rllaillieu I bought a Bugle and will blow it into the phone. When I get asked for info I say "Let me get that for you". Then I say "ready and........."Best $50.00 I ever spent.
I wish people would quit being so naive. There have been so many stories of this kind and other scammers. Unless you live under a rock there is no reason to fall for this garbage......sigh......Of course, I've done third party and first party collections for over 20 years so I know that everything this scammer did was illegal but still.......I feel sorry for her and I hope she has learned her lesson.....expensive one but it could have been worse. Please, everyone....know your rights and one up these scammers.
OK, this is offered as "friendly advice"; NOT legal advice; I work in this field, but I'm not an attorney... There are VERY strict rules  with regard to what creditors can and cannot do, once a person has filed for bankruptcy protection...  A person considering filing a BK is well advised to seek legal counsel if they have any assets (a home, car, personal property, etc); shop around for an attorney, because there are many differences in charges and services provided... and an attorney can provide advice on how to handle contacts by creditors.    Â
Bankruptcy doesn't have the social stigma attached that it had some decades ago... and it can be a means to get a fresh start... but people need to understand the different types, as well as the process and the rules... this is where good legal counsel comes in. Â Â
@margay1Â Disagree agree about bankruptcy not having the social stigma it had decades ago. Â The majority of people that file bankruptcy have to do it SIMPLY because they overspend and lived on credit. Â THEN THEY GET BAILED OUT by filing bankrtupcy. Â To me there is nothing right about that at all. Â
@Ocean Beautiful I have seen MANY file due personal tragedies such as a serious illness in which there was a LOT of medical bills. Never judge or criticize unless you walk a mile in their shoes!Â
@GeauxOSU @Ocean Beautiful Did I not say there are exceptions?  I said the majority file bankruptcy just due to mismanaging money.  Can people not read anymore either?
@Ocean Beautiful ~  Well, to some extent, you are right, and we see those situations, as well as others; eg: well-paying jobs lost and long-term unemployment (or under-employment), or very large medical expenses and little or no insurance...  Some people with homes were OK until the housing values tanked...some ended up in trouble because, when the value of their home was increasing, they kept taking on additional mortgages (I've seen as many as 4 on the same home).. Other people have put everything into trying to keep their businesses going...it's heart-breaking to see all these small businesses fail... Other people, as you say, just made unwise spending, credit and/or investment decisions...  The stories are as varied as the people involved... Â
There are some who know how to work the system... kind of like the people who "work" the welfare systems... and, like you, I have NO sympathy for any of them..! Â Â
Generally, it seems that older people, eg: those raised in or shortly after the Great Depression, were raised in a time when personal bankruptcy was considered to be a serious personal failure... People raised in more recent decades seem more comfortable with the idea of a "fresh start"... Â Right, wrong, or indifferent, it's a complex issue... what's scary is that it doesn't seem to be getting much better...
@Ocean Beautiful GROW UP!!!
@Ocean Beautiful @Fake Pilot LOL
@Fake Pilot @Ocean Beautiful It's true.  Don't care what you say.  Have known many that deliberately went out and charged more right before they filed bankruptcy.
@margay1 Sure. On top of that you will not have a place to live, no car to get to work and very reluctant employers to take you in with your garnish wages. Besides that, the bankruptcy is very fresh star to a new  life.
I guess , you have no personal experience so, you are just posting here something what you have read somewhere. Correct?
@faith @margay1 ~  faith, I have not only been through bankruptcy (as a debtor), but I also happen to work in this field... and I can tell you; you are posting some very INCORRECT information...  Every person's situation is different and this is why people are well advised to talk with a competent bankruptcy attorney when they are considering such a move.  A good BK attorney can provide advice about what assets the person will be able to keep, as well as advising them on the process itself (things such as wage garnishments), and what the person will need to do in order to complete the process and receive their discharge.  Â
If you're going to post about something like this, you should make sure you know what you're talking about before you post. Â Â
@margay1 Its unfortunate the gal had filed like that and think this was related. Somehow these scammers do manage to get some info on people, or they just make false claims. There's all kind of this listed over on 800 notes. The threaten regardless. :( They are nasty people. My son had one cuss at him and he just laughed at the guy.. That one didn't call back. but some will if you hang up.
@Khre'Riov Ael i-Mhiessan t'Rllaillieu @margay1 ~  Well, bankruptcy filings are a matter of public record, so you can bet that some of these scammers know how to get to them, and to their potential victims... AND, they know that the people they're calling are under a lot of stress and therefore, especially vulnerable.   People who have filed a BK and  who have an attorney representing them, have an advantage, because they can just refer any creditor calls to their attorney... Debtors who file "pro se" (without an attorney) need to do a little research to make sure they understand what they can do to protect themselves.  Â
I went through bankruptcy some years ago; once I filed, if I got a creditor call, I just told them "I have filed for bankruptcy, here's my case number." - and hung up - no further discussion. Â No legitimate creditor will pursue the matter any further than that, and the 99.9% of the scammers will just go away and look for easier prey somewhere else. Â Â
@margay1 @Khre'Riov Ael i-Mhiessan t'Rllaillieu It is also illegal for themtto harass people with disabilities. they can not legally collect from one on ssa, ssidi, a nd or from some one collecting state welfare.