scam/spam

[jepinto]

QUOTE

  ACS INTERNATIONAL COLLECTION SERVICES

DEMAND LETTER
This notice is a formal demand for payment.  You owe the amount shown below and have failed to pay after repeated attempts to negotiate a settlement.  In addition, your vicious attitude and irrationally abusive behavior toward the employees of this company is proof enough that you have no intentions of paying.  Therefore, you must pay the sums shown below within 24 hour of receipt or we will start immediate action against you.  We will report you to all credit agencies and take any legal action necessary to assert the rights of collection we have.

BE FOREWARNED:  THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS MATTER.  FAILURE TO PAY WILL RESULT IN UNFORTUNATE CONSEQUENCES FOR YOU.
 


If you respond by 3 PM Pacific Time, you may pay the settlement amount of $837.   HOWEVER, if you fail to make payment, the full amount of $2,790 will be immediately due and actions against you will commence.

TO MAKE PAYMENT, IMMEDIATELY FAX A SIGNED CHECK FOR THE PROPER AMOUNT TO 909-694-4300.  BE SURE TO INCLUDE A COVER SHEET WITH YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, HOME ADDRESS, AND PHONE NUMBER.

IF YOU WISH TO PAY BY CREDIT CARD, FAX A PAGE WITH THE HOLDER'S NAME, CREDIT CARD NUMBER, CARD TYPE, EXPIRATION DATE, SECURITY CODE, and BILLING ADDRESS TO 909-694-4300.  BE SURE TO INCLUDE A COVER SHEET WITH YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, HOME ADDRESS, AND PHONE NUMBER.

This is your last and final warning.  Make payment or proceedings will begin!

If you disagree with this notice, then make payment anyway to stop all proceedings against you.  Then provide us with the proof you do not owe this money.  Frankly, after all the time spent in discussions with you and the numerous settlement offers we have made, you are quite fortunate to have even this chance.  So, we highly recommend you take it.

Collection Services Provided by:
ACS INTERNATIONAL
41743 Enterprise Circle North
Suite 204
Temecula, CA 92590-5625

Phone
800-305-9561
909-694-9394

FAX     
909-694-4300
 
COPYRIGHT © 2003 ACS INTERNATIONAL COLLECTORS, INC.

 Now I know I don't owe anyone this kind of money, and since I'm not "Owner"...but how many people are gonna fall for this?

I've sent it to the FTC, maybe someone will act before too many people fall for it.

[()]

this is something, people conning people out of money by legal threats.

since there is a fax number, i would think that the indivudal or individuals would be easily traced by someone throught the phone companies as well as the police and federal/state agencies.

any one dumb enough to give out a credit card number and their personal  information ove a fax through a email demanding pament shoud no better than to give out the information.

I got a phone call with a companiy asking for my right name and address and needed the last four digits of my social security number.  I never heard of the people and their company before and contacted the police because their number showed up on my caller id.

They were prosecuted for trying to scam people and theft of mail as well.

I got an email from a person that claimed to be in Africa when responding to my email from a computer I was selling.  Offering me moeny at a later date, but if I could send them money so they would be able to acess their money.  duh! how dumb can any one person be to send someone money so they can acess their own money.

Sent it in to the media and finally a story was done on it and people watching was warned not to send money to people that they never met.

Any one reading this, don't be foolish and give out any personal information to anyone over the net, unless you generated a sales transaction on your own.

[bobw]

http://acscorp.us/


You should send a copy of that letter/emial to the FBI.

[Diana]

Hi Jennie,

I'm betting that some over-zealous agent sent that to you by mistake. That company appears to be legit although I sure don't like their tactics. Even if I did owe anyone, I sure wouldn't pay with the methods offered in that e-mail.

It's possible that someone is in the office today when they aren't supposed to be, given the time deadline for action. Maybe they hope to sucker some people on a Sunday when no one else is around. But, again, the company itself seems legit.

Here is a Better Business Bureau page where they are listed as a member in good standing.
BBB of the Southland

I would send a copy of that e-mail to the sales@acscorp.us and
support@acscorp.us during regular business hours just in case this is a baddie who may have access to those e-mail addresses on this Sunday afternoon. A phone call tomorrow might be in order too.

If they've mistyped the e-mail address of a real person they're trying to collect from, they've possibly leaked personal information they could be responsible for and the head honcho should be glad to know so he can fix it.

There are several possibilities here...a scam, a mistake, a stupid company...hard to say. This company also franchises their operations, so it may be a clueless newbie just getting into the business...who needs straightening out..

see ya,

[krissel]

What I find odd is nowhere in that diatribe did they say exactly how and to whom the check should be made out. Usually they specify that very clearly.

Jen, you might also want to send a copy of that to these people:

Better Business Bureau report on ACS

One of the qualifications to be listed with the BBB:

QUOTE

This company is a member of the Better Business Bureau and has agreed to the Bureau’s membership standards, which include a commitment to ethical business practices.

 

[krissel]

I did a little more digging and found that they are a legit member of the Southland BBB but they are violating their aggeement not to use the BBB logo on their website.

QUOTE

Bureau members may be permitted to use the BBB torch logo in their advertising...(except on their website). Contact Mary Lou Diaz at the Colton Office for sign-up information.

The BBB has a handshake icon which is the acceptable advertisement for websites and this ASC company is using the BBB torch icon. So they are doing something else not legit.

 

While at the Southland BBB I ran across this list of really helpful organizations.
(Unfortunately someone at the BBB can't spell..."Sourses". ...I'm emailing them about that...)

List of helpful sites

[WDL]

To all:

Active listing with the BBB is no testament to the
veracity of a business - it simply indicates they
paid the required membership fee. Period.

WDL

[jepinto]

Have reported them to the BBB and for good measure to The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC)

[jepinto]

Just got a response from the BBB.

Short and to the point.....

QUOTE

Company's response to customer request:

the email did not come from this company. unknown person(s) copied our website ad sent the email to thousands of people. police report has been file to the riverside county sherrifs dept.

Well....I could possibly buy that it was unknown peron(s)...if
1.  It wasn't their phone number and theiir fax number.
2.  It hadn't taken 4 months to respond,.
3.  I wasn't so suspicious.

[tacit]

QUOTE(jepinto @ Jan 14 2004, 8:31 PM)

Well....I could possibly buy that it was unknown peron(s)...if
1.  It wasn't their phone number and theiir fax number.
2.  It hadn't taken 4 months to respond,.
3.  I wasn't so suspicious.

 It's quite likely that they're telling the truth; this smells like a joe job to me.

A "joe job" is a situation where someone will send out spam or fake emails in someone else's name, with the goal of getting people to complain about that someone else.

For example, let's suppose I own superjetpacks.com and you own acmejetpacks.com, and you have been selling more jet packs than me. What I can do is send out a million pieces of email advertising your Web site, acmejetpacks.com. Then a huge wash of complaints will come in against your company, your ISP will shut down your Web site and cut off your Internet access, and my Web site is the only one left selling jet packs.

In this case, my suspicion is that whoever sent the emails didn't expect to make a dime. He wasn't trying to get any money; that's why ther is no real payment information.

Instead, he likely had a grudge against the collections company. His goal was to get people to file complaints against the collections company, and maybe to have their Internet access removed.

In an age where people take spam and email harrassment very seriously, joe jobs are a great way to harrass a business you don't like, or even get the business shut down. If you can trick people into thinking a business has spammed them, they will complain about the business for you.

[pendragon]

Tacit Thanks so much for your post explaning "joe jobs." Alas, I knew not of such things, and 'tis a bit wiser I am now, thanks to your post. Truly, it is appreciated.

Harv

[jepinto]

Thank you Tacit for the explanation.  Maybe a disgruntled employee?  'Cause if I remember correctly....(a feat this week, believe you me ) the headers all appeared to come from the company.