Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania

I have been receiving calls from a Philadelphia County case number indicating an intent to find me, and even come to get me. This person has called my work place, one of my friends and left a message on my personal voice mail.

This kind of thing has happen a few times over the past few years, and a legal adviser said it was likely some kind of scam using these very intimidating tactics. In the past it seemed they were trying to get me to pay them money... This person says that when this case leaves their office it will become public record.


Asked on 12/16/14, 6:40 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

No you have not. I don't doubt you are getting calls. What I doubt is that it is from the Philadelphia County court. People who sue you do not call you first. So I am inclined to think this is a scam. Also, it would help to know the supposed case number because court cases always use a certain format for cases. If the number is not in this format then it is not a real case number and is a scam. The only exception would be if its a debt collector using an internal file number but in that case it would not be the court calling.

Further, once a lawsuit is filed, it is a matter of public record. However, lawsuits are not done in secret. You get served by certified mail or the sheriff. So if the sheriff or constable comes with a lawsuit, then you can worry. You will know you have been sued when solicitation letters from other lawyers start showing up in your mailbox.

As I said, people don't call and give you a heads up about a lawsuit. So I would tend to agree with the legal adviser.

There is really nothing you can do about the scammers as they are probably located overseas. With computers, they can make it look like they are calling from the US but they are in a call center in India or somewhere else. Next time you get a phone call, write down the number calling and google it and see if its registered to anyone. Try calling the number back. If its legitimate, a business will answer and if you have reached a debt collector they are required to advise you of such. If you cannot complete the call or get a similar message, then you have been contacted by a scammer. In such case, just ignore the calls.

You can report this to the PA attorney general but as I said, nothing can be done if the caller is truly overseas.

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Answered on 12/16/14, 7:37 pm


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