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Making a long story short. I got a message twice in past week stating that "this is so and so calling concerning the affairs of the LATE mr john doe (fictitious name of course to protect my privacy). please call us. this is urgent".
The LATE mr john doe was the name of my first husband, who i have not heard from in over 15 years, so I don't know if he is really dead or alive, where he lives and don't really care. Out of curiousity, I called the number after hours to find out what kind of business it was, and it was some sort of collections company.
Mind you, this is where it gets interesting. I have had three other marriages and divorces since divorcing him, and have kept the name of my fourth husband. I have moved approximately 10 times to 5 different states in that timeframe. And have never kept the same phone number. When I divorced him, we had no assets, though lots of debts that he incurred in my name (credit cards) and I assumed 90 percent of them, and have since paid those debts.
First of all, I am wondering HOW they found me.
Second of all, if it were a debt that we jointly or i personally had, and i didnt know about, or was omitted in the divorce decree, wouldnt have this collection company found me in the PAST 15 years? It sure would have been easier to find me one name change later, not THREE MORE! And more so, aren't debts wiped out after 7 years anyway?
So what could this possibly be????? Any clues?
And would it be possibly detrimental for me to acknowledge this phone call and return it?
The curiousity is KILLING me. I have NO CLUE what it's about. (I do also wonder how the heck he died-I am 43 and I think he was a few years younger, so he died at a young age!)
I sure would like to think that maybe the unemployed loser that I knew, ended up amounting to something and had a job and somewhere along the line left me some money haha...but it aint a probate court or lawyer calling me, it's a collection agency, so dang, it aint that.
ANY HELPFUL advice would be MUCH appreciated.
Last edited by NOTAM; 01-04-2008 at 08:04 PM..
Reason: add
I think it's very very odd to say the least. Be very wary of something like this. There are people out there in the world that are absolutely perfect con-men. I haven't heard of an exact situation like this but I've heard of situations very similar to this where they go 'phishing' (yes that's the term) for your personal info. If they start asking SSN's, birth dates, etc.. etc.. you may want to do a Google search on the internet for the name of the company and see if there are any complaints filed against it for identity theft.
I have also heard of 'companies' that call and want you to call them back. Only when you do, somehow it connects to an offshore pay-by-minute line that charges outrageous amounts per minute. Be very careful with this. It was a long time ago, so I wonder if there any statute of limitations on some sort of debt your former husband may have incurred on you. Get a credit check done as well.
they did not ask for MY name when they called. they asked for "family of Mr John Doe". did not address my name at all. not even first name.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GCSTroop
I think it's very very odd to say the least. Be very wary of something like this. There are people out there in the world that are absolutely perfect con-men. I haven't heard of an exact situation like this but I've heard of situations very similar to this where they go 'phishing' (yes that's the term) for your personal info. If they start asking SSN's, birth dates, etc.. etc.. you may want to do a Google search on the internet for the name of the company and see if there are any complaints filed against it for identity theft.
I have also heard of 'companies' that call and want you to call them back. Only when you do, somehow it connects to an offshore pay-by-minute line that charges outrageous amounts per minute. Be very careful with this. It was a long time ago, so I wonder if there any statute of limitations on some sort of debt your former husband may have incurred on you. Get a credit check done as well.
they did not ask for MY name when they called. they asked for "family of Mr John Doe". did not address my name at all. not even first name.
I'd take it very, very cautiously. Do a little research on things before you try and return the call. Hey, it's been YEARS, they can wait a few days for you to take a few precautions, right?? Look into it, follow your gut, but be very skeptical. That's the best advice I can give.
That is bizarre. BUT if as you say its a collection agency, they aren't wanting to GIVE you something from his estate, they are wanting you to pay off some debt of his.
Skip tracers are pretty tenacious when trying to hunt someone down.
I think I would consider changing my phone number, put it in your husbands name or something and forget about it. Maybe check the internet for references to this man's death if your curious.
I would not even consider returning the call.
If your departed exhusband somehow felt charitable and decided to leave you something in a will I would think you would hear that from an attorney.
Being that the call is from a collection agency, I think this is a can of worms that you definitely don't want to open that could cause you a whole lot of problems.
I sure would run a credit report check to see if there might be ID theft involved or anything on your report that you don't know about.
If curiousity does gets the best of you, DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION.
I think big red flags are waving on this one.
thanks for all the feedback and advice. i am sure it's just a "phisher". lindsey, i would HIGHLY doubt it. we have had no contact in 15 years and if he's still where i left him, he's across the country, and we have had no dealings. i am sure i am just a distant memory at this point. he was a loser but not a con man type.
i think i will just ignore it. however, i will get a copy of my credit report, as much as i hate to even look at it-i havent seen mine in years! though i am sure it looks alot better than it used to!
bellestaroftexas
I would bet they are skip tracing, they maybe trying to find out if he had an estate that was probated so they can file a claim.
I know about the curiosity thing can you google his name this may show a death notice.
I doubt you will hear form them again if they should call again I would just tell them "I have no information, please remove this number from your file if you call again you will be violating FDCPA regulations"
If it was old debt the statue of limitation has expired in 15 years.
Pulling your credit report is something everyone should do once a year it is free
the best site to use is www.annualcreditreport.com
most of the others will give you a free report is you sign up for their credit watch program.
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