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Imagine getting a call from India and being told to pay $500 on a suspicious debt or you’d be imprisoned and fired from your job.
That’s the situation more than 10,000 Americans found themselves in over the past two years, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The calls supposedly originated from the Federal Department of Crime and Prevention, a completely bogus federal organization that does exist. In reality, they actually came from India.
It turns out the criminal ring orchestrating this scam actually hired Indian telemarketers to place at least 20 million calls to people. The telemarketers typically demanded $500 of people, though some were asked for up to $2,000.
Even though the supposed debts were completely fictitious, millions and millions of Americans apparently paid tens of thousands of dollars to get these people off their backs. The ringleaders have not, to my knowledge, been arrested. And the FTC thinks they’re just at the tip of the iceberg on this scam.
Know that you do have rights when you’re contacted about a debt. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind when dealing with collectors:
This post was last modified on March 22, 2017 2:22 pm
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