On 2/5/07 I received a Dunning Letter and Offer of Settlement from Afni dated 31 Jan 07. Afni is located:
Afni, Inc.
P.O. Box 3427
Bloomington, IL 61702-3427
It was for a debt that did not exist, from a creditor with whom I had no account, using a form of my name I never use, and alleging that 9 years ago I lived at an address I never lived at which was located about 15 miles from where I had lived.
Upon phoning them, I was told I could clear the collection action they had going if I FAXed them my current Driver's License, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, and a list of all residences I lived at from 1998 to now. Clearly such comprehensive data would be of use only to commit Identity Theft, not to mention this is Fraudulent Extortion and Mail Fraud.
Afni does have a current license with the State of North Carolina as a debt collection agency; I asked the State and they confirmed this. The State of NC has advised me to FAX in details of the case with a complaint and also to turn it all over to several Law Enforcement Agencies.
I have since contacted my local Sheriff, the Postal Inspection Service, and the FBI. All three confirmed that asking for this information is not a valid approach for debt collection and that this was an identity theft fishing expedition.
Should Afni be charged with a crime I am willing to serve as a witness.
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