By: Erin Smith
A new scam is making the rounds and the members of the legal profession want you to be aware. In a statement posted to the NC State Bar website, the scam involves the “spoofing” of lawyer’s telephone numbers and calling a member of the public and attempting to collect as debt.
According to the statement, “The caller says “I am with [law office] calling to collect a debt. If you do not give me a credit card number to pay this immediately, the sheriff is standing by to come to your house and arrest you.” The caller is not working for the law office and there is no debt. The caller is hoping to scare people into paying money they do not owe in order to avoid arrest.”
According to one area lawyer, the caller threatens to arrest the victim if they do not pay the debt.
Folks are advised not to give out any personal or financial information to the caller. Instead write down the name of the law office that appeared on the Caller ID and then hang up and called the State Bar Attorney Client Assistance Program at 919-828-4620 and describe what happened.
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