Q: I am getting a call from a gentleman who claims to be an asset investigator and says I owe a debt.
He's aids that it needs to be paid immediately or they are going to serve me and have me arrested. There is also a woman that I talk to that says she is an attorney with a totally different phone number which is from my state. They both tell me the same thing. I legitimately owe this debt, they have all of my info such as SSN, address, place of employment, etc. I told them I can not pay the amount in full but they are willing to take a little at a time. They say that they have my bank info and my bank told them that they can no longer try to withdraw from that account because they don't want to have to close my account due to a lot of NSF. Does this sound like a scam?
A:
Be suspicious and skeptical. You cannot be arrested for not paying a debt unless you are in contempt of court. You also cannot be 'locked out of your bank account' unless they have attached it during a court proceeding. This sounds like a scam but a lot of debt collectors utilize high pressure tactics. You could try asking them for proof of the debt. It's not uncommon for people to attempt to collect on debt that is past the statute of limitations to collect on by pressuring them using nightmare scenarios as to what will happen if they do not pay.
No one here can tell you whether it is a scam or not because you may legitimately owe on this debt. However you should always be skeptical if people are calling you over the phone with no proof trying to get money out of you.
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