Ataal

Well, that's some good news! I'll go ahead and cross my fingers, toes, and eyes that is true. And, if I end up losing $100, I'm never answering my phone again! I'm newly diabetic. Between the meds still needing a little tweaking and the stress from this, my sugar levels have been out of control. I can't wait to get this all behind me. Thank you all for your responses. I truly appreciate the time you take out of your day to help those of us who have never had to deal with this kind of stuff before. Not all heroes wear capes!

Update: Apparently, even though I called to have a new card issued, the payment still went through. I'm disputing it because I still didn't authorize it, but even if it is disputed, and taken off, does that still count as a payment activity? Thus, restarting the statute of limitations? My stomach is in knots right now.

**breathes sigh of relief** Thank you both so much for responding. I've stressed so much over this over the past couple of days.

BV80, thank you for your recommendation on checking the courts. Assuming I did it right, under civil lawsuits, my name is not listed. I even checked just my last name to see if they used a different first name. I did, however, find something about my cousin I probably shouldn't know about. lol So, is that it, then? Definitely a scam if no cases have been filed? I know collection companies can do some pretty shady stuff. But, I keep going back to the fact that the last possible year that account had any activity was 2006. 12, almost 13 years ago. According to a few Google searches, the statute of limitations in Arizona is 6 years. Is it possible that there is a loophole to extend that limit?

I've worked in IT for over two decades. I advise people all the time on scams(mostly e-mail related), especially my users at work. But, apparently, it's a whole different thing when it happens to me. I received a phone call from a private number. I was at work at the time, so I didn't answer it. They left a voicemail stating they were from the "County Courier Office." She said she was a dispatcher, stated her name, and operator ID. She said that she was in the process of serving me and to contact the collector at an 833 area code with a reference number of 68782AZ. About 15 minutes later, my mother received the same phone call, but mentioned a "background check" on her voicemail message. My mother actually called me to see if I was applying for another job. Freaked out, I called the 833 number. "Shannon" said that it was in regards to a Bank of America checking account in the order of $850, $200 in overdraft, $600+ in late fees. I opened up that account in 2004. Maybe used it a year. It hasn't been on my credit report in years. It is definitely not on there from February of 2018, for sure. "Shannon" said that if they go through litigation, I am on the hook for lawyer and court fees on top of the $850 and would settle it over the phone for $650 in one lump sum or they would allow me to make three payments to cover the $850. I'm in shock at this point, because I just purchased a new car after a wreck, and there's no way I can come up with that kind of money right now. She asked why I didn't respond to the letter they sent out 45 days ago. I keep mail for months. I went through every single piece of mail I had. Nothing. Here is where I did something stupid. I said I could come up with $100 today if that would show some good faith and get on a payment plan once a month until it's paid off. At the time, it all sounded so legit. They knew about that account, the last four of my social, knew my mother's number(who helped me set up that account in 2004), etc... After I had given her my card info, she sounded like she was reading through a script and asked if I am authorizing her to take the money from my account. That must have been the point where I got over the anxiety a little and the logic center of my brain kicked in. I then asked to hold on a second before I authorize anything. I asked which company she was with. She said "Lindell Mediation Group Services." I got on my work phone immediately to look that name up. Nothing. I asked if they had a website. She said they used to, but they got so many threats from people, so they took it down. She then asked if I would feel more comfortable if she sent me an email to sign. As an IT guy, I was more than happy to have an email address from them to do some research on them. The email came from admin@lmgservices.org I found it immediately odd that it came from a .org domain. Although there is no rule against it, they are generally used for non-profit organizations and the like. The domain itself was created in May of 2018. The email itself is a valid address(so possibly not spoofed), but one validation check said that it could not accept any more messages due to being too full. It also seemed a little weird they used admin as the email address. I then received a notification on my phone that a pending transaction had shown up on my phone. It was for $100 and the information was: FoothillMgmt860-397-1672 Location: 860-397-1672, CA 90807 After a Google search, it appears that, in California, Foothill Management is a property management company. But, the phone number provided is in Connecticut. I called the number. No one answered, but a recording said, "You have reached the litigation department, please call back during normal business hours with your name and case number." Or, something similar to that. I'm going by memory. No company name, just "litigation department." At this point, I'm leaning more towards scam than legit, so I called my card company and they will be sending me a new card. I'm still freaking out over this because of the "what if" factor. Can anyone please offer me assurance, either way? I just want to know, you know?