Bogus debt collectors join AG’s list of scams

When it comes to dodging the curve-ball pitches of scammers, Steve and Alice Reichenbach of Camas say they’ve stayed light on their feet.

Like many Clark County residents, they’ve sidestepped:

• Phony claims that they won huge in lotteries they never heard of, and didn’t enter, from crooks seeking their money and personal information.

• Bogus offers of jobs as “mystery shoppers,” mailing them a worthless forged check and claiming they needed to wire off some cash to get the job spying on store employees.

• And a nasty e-mail from someone in Nigeria who informed Steve Reichenbach that he was being watched and — if he didn’t wire money to the sender — he was going to get hurt.

“I just ignored it,” said Reichenbach. “It’s getting crazy out there with the Internet. Everybody is preying on each other.”

But the most recent con the couple say they’ve been hammered with is one that Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna and other officials have issued specific warnings about.

Early in November, the couple said, a man who spoke broken English started calling to say Reichenbach owed $4,000 to some unidentified person the caller was representing, from a payday loan. The caller threatened to take him to court and even have him arrested for bank fraud.

The man and a woman working with him, both seemingly based in California, said they represented a company called First Cash International. Reichenbach said they kept calling and calling, and were still calling and threatening him weeks later.

“They acted like they were from a Nazi collection agency,” he said.

Reichenbach said he does have some debts he’s paying off, but none in California. He said these callers’ claims and conduct didn’t ring true.

“He would never tell me who I owed the money to,” he said. “I said, ‘Send me the paperwork, or at least tell me who I owe.’”

Weeks later, he said, no paperwork had arrived, and the callers also had asked for his Social Security number, birth date, place of employment and checking account number.

“He was fishing for information. I said, ‘I’m not giving that information over the phone!’”

Reichenbach said the callers mentioned an old checking account from when he lived in Mississippi until a couple of years ago. He said he lost his wallet there and the callers likely were working with personal information collected from that.

Suspicious that the persistent callers were after money he doesn’t really owe, Reichenbach said he told them, “If you’re going to take me to court, take me to court.’”

As it stands, he said, “I know I don’t owe money to them.”

The state Department of Financial Institutions has issued a Consumer Alert specifically about First Cash International, aka National Federal Credit Union.

“First Cash International does not appear to have a Web site” or a listed address, says the alert. “The contact information provided by the company is false. The telephone numbers that may appear on your caller ID appear to be falsified. The company may in fact be located in a foreign country.”

The warning also says the company is not licensed by the state Department of Financial Institutions or registered to do business here with the state Department of Revenue or Secretary of State.

In addition, one of the attorney general’s website postings is titled, “Pesky debt collectors may not be legit.”

It offers people advice if they have debt collectors calling, legit or not, and it begins with finding out whom you may or may not owe the money to.

“Collectors cannot pursue a debt once you’ve proven that it’s not yours,” the post says. “So if you don’t owe it, you need to act. Ask your bank or creditors to give you written proof, then send a copy of that proof to the collection agency.”

It continues, “With many consumers in financial crisis these days, legitimate debt collection companies are also working overtime. Remember, if you truly owe the debt, you have legal rights.”

A link explains what those rights are.

So … there’s crazy stuff out there. How bad is it?

It’s so bad that the attorney general’s website links to an online “Recession Survival guide” with more information about scammers.

“The worst economic downturn in generations has created a perfect storm of financial shocks: evaporating investments, foreclosures and job losses,” the bulletin says. “To add insult to injury, a new generation of thieves increasingly targets the dwindling bank balances of struggling Washington residents.”

The bulletin adds: “Among the threats: Bogus employers who steal your cash and personal information, empty promises to save your home, worthless grant application assistance and expensive debt relief programs that leave you in worse financial shape.”

The site, http://atg.wa.gov, contains a wealth of specific information about fending off a long list of scams. It also offers government services including help with foreclosure and other mortgage problems — for free — that folks can use to sidestep outfits that want them to pay them for it, and maybe want to rip them off.

Still more help is available from the state Department of Financial Institutions at http://dfi.wa.gov or 877-RING-DFI (877-746-4334).