An alert for a fraudulent scheme has been posted by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Several Spanish speaking individuals were contacted by telephone by someone who claimed that there was money owed to pay the debt of another person. The potential victims were informed that there would be a court hearing, and they were given a time/date for a hearing at the Utah Bankruptcy Court. The caller apparently requested that a credit card number be provided for immediate payment of the debt, but these individuals refused to provide a card and showed up for the hearings instead.
According to the notice, there was no indication that Spanish speaking individuals are the only ones being targeted, nor that the scheme wasn’t occurring elsewhere. There was nothing that indicated that this scheme was limited to bankruptcy court either, but it makes sense that people who may be less familiar with the US legal system may be targets of a scheme like this.
As with any private information, never give out your credit card number to someone that you don’t know, and always verify facts when contacted regarding payment of unknown debts or suspicious court dates. If you are contacted by anyone with similar facts, have been a victim of this scheme or have any information you should contact the Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshall Jim Phelphs at Jim.Phelps@usdoj.gov
by Susanne Robicsek, Charlotte NC Bankruptcy Lawyer
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