VICTIMS FEEL THREATENED
Company Uses Scare Tactics to Scam Victims
An Ohio based company is using scare tactics in an attempt to coerce victims into paying old debts that consumers say they don’t owe. Tactics used by the company, Midwest Litigations, include threats to post negative information about the victims on the internet, put them in jail, or ruin their credit.
This debt collection scam usually begins with the victim receiving a call from Midwest Litigations from a person claiming to be a special investigator, lawyer, debt collector, or officer of the court. They make various threats in an attempt to scare their victims into paying the alleged debts. Victims indicate that the company was aware of past circumstances such as a bankruptcy, bad credit, job history, or previous problems with law enforcement. The company threatened to cast these circumstances in the worst possible light and broadcast the information in a way that victims felt would be damaging or embarrassing.
“The first time they called I was really upset,” said a Citrus Heights resident. “I was crying and shaking because they were claiming to be attorneys and threatened to arrest me.”
In some cases, Midwest Litigations cited the victim’s social security number in an attempt to get their bank account information. When victims threaten to hang up or report them to local authorities, the response from Midwest Litigations is the same; they threaten to throw them in jail, post negative information about them on the internet, or ruin their credit. These threats are usually followed by a torrent of obscenities.
The Ohio BBB has linked Midwest Litigations to a collection agency, Next Step Services, out of Columbus Ohio. The connection was made after a Florida victim reported that she had given Midwest Litigations access to her bank account for the debt they said she owed. When the charges appeared on her statement they came from Next Step Services. The BBB in Ohio is currently developing more information.
“Using these kinds of very aggressive scare tactics is a ploy to shake up the victims so much that they react in panic and send money because they become afraid not to,” said Barry Goggin, President of the BBB in Northeast California. “We hope people who receive these calls will contact us.”
Professional collection services do not use any of the kinds of tactics being reported. According to the Fair Debt Collection Act, “Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact.” Under this act obscene or profane language is prohibited. Debt collectors cannot pose as attorneys nor can they imply you’ve committed a crime or threaten to arrest you for not paying your debt. For more information on the Fair Debt Collection Act visit our BBB website at www.bbb.org or call (916) 443-6843.
###