For several months now I have received repeated calls from individuals (usually with very thick accents) identifying themselves as John Nelson, AD Walker, and Steven Smith, who were investigators with the Department of Law & Investigation. Being a well travelled and educated man, I immediately began doing some research into these erroneous assertions that I owed them money.in each case, the caller reported that they had a subpoena that would be filed under my name and social security number ending in # - . This is complete and utter nonsense!!!
First of all, I used to work for an attorney many years ago, and now, as a forensic psychologist (who spends countless numbers of hours in Court), know the legal systems in America very well. Subpoena's are an official Court order signed into effect by a judge in a real Court of law (in America). Once signed, it becomes an official matter of record with the Court in which it has been filed. No judge in his/her right mind would ever give a valid subpoena with their signature on it to a complete stranger so they might later call and negotiate a settlement with you. Once the subpoena is issued, a sheriff's deputy (or another agent of the Court) is required to have the document delivered directly to you, advising what specific date/time you are to appear in said Court before judge whoever. This, under no circumstanes, is negotiable!!! When a real subpoena is issued, if you fail to appear before the Court, you are considered in contempt of Court and a judge can have an official bench warrant issued for your arrest. Rest assured, these scam artists have no real subpoena and no matter what they tell you, neither you or your respective employers will be required to appear in Court.
I recall being verbally abused by one of these gentlemen once and hung up, stating that I would not conduct business with someone who seemed so clearly unprofessional. He called back about an hour later, this time insisting that he would contact my employer and that a subpoena would be issued for my employer to also show up in Court if I did not cooperate and give him my banking information to resolve the matter most urgently.
I've deligently tried explaining to my misinformed friends (John Nelson, etc.) who insist on calling me both at home and at work that I was aware that this was a fraudulent company with no real legal basis for their claims, but to no avail. Realizing that I was playing their game by becoming emotional and displaying frustration with their tireless efforts, I calmly indicated that I would not cooperate, would give them no information about myself, and was recording their calls for future use in an actual investigation I intended to become a part of with my state's attorney general's office. Since that time, I've taken to providing them with the name and telephone number of the Attorney General for the state in which I currently reside. It must be working because I've not received a call from them in quite some time and hope to never hear from them again.
The sad part about this process is that many of you have little knowledge of your basic rights as American citizens, and these scam artists are keenly aware of this disturbing fact and have begun using it to their advantage. It saddens me to think that others have actually provided them with relevent banking and financial information that they have used to bilk millions of dollars from people every year. Don't be afraid to challenge authority, research companies such as those that you might have never before heard of but that have official sounding names, and report them for what they are... FRAUDS!!!
Good luck to you all...
NativeNYke
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