maize Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I've been getting automated calls asking for me by name, finally had a real person on the line today and...they wouldn't identify themself (other than a first name) but kept fishing for me to verify information such as date of birth and address. I told them if they have legitimate business with me they can send me a letter, but they ask me to "verify" my address first. It very much sounds like a collection agency but...I'm not aware of any debts that would be in collections. What I'm actually wondering is if they are trying to track down someone with my name (very common first and last names) and are just calling any phone numbers attached to that name. What do you think? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I would not give them any info over the phone. I think you handled it well. If they have legitimate business with you, they can send you a letter. When they ask you to "verify" your address, they're asking you to give it to them, right? Yeh, no. I wouldn't. I'd probably be open to them reading my address to me, and then verifying with a yes or no if they have the correct address, but that's about the extent of the info I'd give them. Have you checked your credit report lately? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 19, 2017 Author Share Posted January 19, 2017 Credit report was fine as of a few weeks ago. And yes, they won't give me any information at all. They want me to give them my date of birth and address so they can verify it. Not happening. Wonder what they would say if I have them a random date of birth? I'm tempted to try. Anyone with legitimate business with me would have my address and not need me to "verify". 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 That happened to me before. Some mysterious women calling for my Dh wanting to talk to him, wanting his cell phone number. But not stating why. It was a collection agency. Someone had stolen his identity and run up some credit card debt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadenceSophia Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I don't know if that sounds like a collection agency. At least I have never gotten a call anything like that. I'd block the number if possible (if it is your cell phone). If you really have an overdue bill they will send a letter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Probably a scam of some sort. Maybe Clark Howard would have some info. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne in CA Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I think it may be someone with just enough information about you that they want to firm it up and get started stealing your identity. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valley Girl Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 (edited) Credit report was fine as of a few weeks ago. And yes, they won't give me any information at all. They want me to give them my date of birth and address so they can verify it. Not happening. Wonder what they would say if I have them a random date of birth? I'm tempted to try. Anyone with legitimate business with me would have my address and not need me to "verify". "What address are you trying to verify?" I mean, if they're going to verify something, they must already have an address with which to compare it. So they can tell YOU what they have. Then you can tell them it's not you. I wouldn't give any info over the phone to strangers. In fact, that's exactly what I tell them. (I also tell them I don't give out information about my neighbors to strangers. I've gotten a call or two like that.) Edited January 19, 2017 by Reluctant Homeschooler 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 19, 2017 Author Share Posted January 19, 2017 "What address are you trying to verify?" I mean, if they're going to verify something, they must already have an address with which to compare it. So they can tell YOU what they have. Then you can tell them it's not you. I wouldn't give any info over the phone to strangers. In fact, that's exactly what I tell them. (I also tell them I don't give out information about my neighbors to strangers. I've gotten a call or two like that.) Yeah, this is what they did. They wouldn't tell me what address they have. I told them I don't give out personal information when I don't know who I am talking to and they said "the address is public not private". Um, yeah, then you can read it out to me... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valley Girl Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 (edited) Yeah, this is what they did. They wouldn't tell me what address they have. I told them I don't give out personal information when I don't know who I am talking to and they said "the address is public not private". Um, yeah, then you can read it out to me... What weasels. If it's public, then they should already have it and don't need you to verify. Glad you didn't give them anything. Honestly, I'd be so tempted to play with them a bit just to waste their time. ETA: I once had a collection agency call and ask for someone I'd never heard of. I gave my standard "You have the wrong number. That person has never lived here." (We were the first owners of the house so I knew it couldn't be a previous resident.) The jerk actually said, "How do I know you're not lying?" I responded, "How do I know that YOU aren't?" He hung up. Edited January 19, 2017 by Reluctant Homeschooler 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 19, 2017 Author Share Posted January 19, 2017 Thanks for confirming my "this is not a legitimate business call" instinct... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 it sounds like a fishing expedition/scam. a collection agency is legally required to id themselves. if they don't have your name, address etc already there is NO reason for you to give it to them. even if it is a legit collection agency.. .. we had a medical provider never, ever send us a bill, let alone bill our insurance - but two years later it was turned over to a collection agency. apparently - that provider NEVER billed anyone, just sent everything to collections. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmaluv+2more Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I had this happen once, but I have no debt so I knew something was not right. I kept questioning the lady, but she would offer no proof that she was who she said she was. She eventually got very angry with me, called me names and hung up. These kinds of calls are definitely scams. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Yeah don't give them info...hang up and block the number if you can. Sounds scammy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 For Security reasons, we have a rule in our house. If our phone rings, and the caller says it is a Bank, or some other organization, we must assume that a criminal is calling us. If we call a bank, we know that we called the phone number of the bank. If someone calls us, we have no way to verify that it is authorized bank business. My wife has received a number of calls on her cell phone in recent weeks, from another cell phone number, claiming to be a bank she has a credit card with. They say that they want to send her a better card (with a higher credit limit). She will not confirm any information with them, since they called her. She did not call them. If it is the bank, they have our correct address and can send a new card to our house. It is probably the bank, but we are not positive of that. YOU MUST BE CAREFUL WHEN YOUR PHONE RINGS! Do not give any information to callers you are not positive about. Yes, that could be a Collection Call, but it also could be a smart criminal, fishing for information. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 This happened with a hospital bill for my daughter. Somehow the payment went to the wrong account, and they sent it to collections. It was obnoxious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Yeah you did the right thing. Doesn't sound legit at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Sounds like phishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I've been getting automated calls asking for me by name, finally had a real person on the line today and...they wouldn't identify themself (other than a first name) but kept fishing for me to verify information such as date of birth and address. I told them if they have legitimate business with me they can send me a letter, but they ask me to "verify" my address first. It very much sounds like a collection agency but...I'm not aware of any debts that would be in collections. What I'm actually wondering is if they are trying to track down someone with my name (very common first and last names) and are just calling any phone numbers attached to that name. What do you think? Don't answer it. I got one of those calls once and paid the bill. Found out it was a scam. Fortunately, I found out quickly so I stayed better guarded. But they got sneakier years later. I paid another bill only to find out it was not so much a scam but rather someone else's bill. So a real collection agency got me to pay someone else's medical bills because they listed me as the owner of the bill. Later, I found out it was a bill for someone else and someone by my name was listed as the responsible party. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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