Q: I have received an email requesting I pay or they will send me to court, I have never received any legitimate info
I have received this email and I want to know if it is legitimate, I emailed asking what it was in regards to and they sent an email with minimal information and told me to pay a certain amount of money to close it. They could not tell me when where or how they got my information, but that they went through social security and pulled it up, nothing like this is on my credit either. Is there someone that can help?
Case File No: ACS/DS-2097315
Balance Amount: $970.85
Case File Transferred to ACS: - July 2020.
Dear Customer,
Having checked your Social Security Number through our National Checking Database System, and finding out that you have been never charged for a fraud activity, ACS has decided to give you a chance to take care of this issue outside of the Court without you having a report on your Credit History and SSN. In order to avoid a lawsuit of $2873.81 against you, we request you to kindly pay the Court Restitution Amount which is $970.85. If you settle this matter t
A:
Your suspicion seems justified. This has the earmarks of a phishing scam. Since you haven't lost any money it is unlikely your local police department will get involved.
You should report it to the FTC. To do so, forward the message to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at reportphishing@apwg.org.
A:
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2015/03/there-no-bureau-defaulters?page=1
ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/ACS-INC-Debt-Collectors-or-Scam/td-p/3311084/page/3
bbb.org/us/fl/clearwater/profile/collections-agencies/acs-inc-phony-debt-collector-0653-90127825/customer-reviews
bobsullivan.net/gotchas/phantom-debt-collector-comes-after-me-again-heres-what-their-emails-look-like/
getoutofdebt.org/107405/acs-incorporation-debt-collection-effort
ripoffscams.com/reports-filed/creditor-acs-incorporation/lake-elsinore-california/creditor-acs-incorporation-creditor-acs-incorporation-credit-united-legal-investigation-bureau-accused-me-of-doing-1-violation-of-federal-banking-regulation-2-collateral-check-fraud-3-theft-b/329155/
A:
The simple answer is:
This is likely a person trying to defraud you. There are a number of agencies who monitor and investigate this sort of activity. Check https://www.fraud.org/ or https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams for common fraud schemes and a way to report fraudulent activity.
If you don't recognize the party trying to collect money and the details don't line up, chances are good the email is a scam.
The IRS and all government agencies will never send you and email of this sort. Paper correspondence or a knock at your door is the typical method of contact.
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