Atlantic Group

My sister in Corvallis, Oregon received a call from Atlantic Group, 844-604-5265 and was told they were a collection agency and wanted money for unpaid bills. She said others in the city have also received such calls. I told her to report it to the local police dept and the Internet Crime Unit of the FBI. I also told her not to answer their phone calls. Her computer was hacked and the hacker has been calling all of her contacts. Is there anything else she should do?

I would think the first thing she needs to do is make sure her PC is clean of malware and / or viruses. "getting hacked" is a loose term, and most people using a simple single PC will never "get hacked" on a personal computer. hackers attack medium to large size businesses and Governments most of the time.

More likely than not she got phished or installed malware somehow, so that needs to be cleaned off first.

Next the "polite" ( or conscientious) thing to do for her would be to alert all of her friends about the breech in her system, so they are aware of the scam call headed to them. Education is the best defense against scammers.

Tell them to get a copy of the Fair debt collections practice act (FDCPA) read it, and follow the instruction it contains to report fake debt collectors. You can find a .pdf copy and FAQ's here : http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/01 ... collection

Thank you for the information. One of the first things I told her to do was to clean her computer of malware everytime she goes on the internet and to make sure she has good virus protection

It is a known scam telephone number.
See http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-844-604-5265

I received a voicemail from a woman claiming to be named, "Dana Saunders" from this company. She had a, what I believe to be, "Caribbean" accent of some kind. She left a voicemail on my work phone (how she got that I don't know) and also on my mobile phone. She said, "This is a notification for... My name is Dana Saunders and I'm contacting you from the offices of Atlantic Group regarding some serious allegations that are pending against you. In the event that we are unable to contact you, this office will actively seek you at your place of employment and also your residence. You do have the legal right to resolve this matter outside of court. It is indeed imperative that we speak with you immediately. Please contact our offices at 855-203-7250 and reference case number XXXXX. Mr. Orlando, you have officially been notified." I called this number, but reached them first by dialing the number that came up on my Caller ID, which was a local number of 407-710-0897 (obviously "spoofed") - I spokeo'd the number and it came up as a local residence, not a business. When I dialed this local number, that they somehow hijacked and had forwarded - I reached a woman who transferred me to Mrs. Saunders. When I reached Mrs. Saunders, she asked, "Is this Mr. Orlando calling?" I said, "Yes," and she then said, "and are the last four digits of your social security number XXXX." I said yes, because I assumed this might be a real debt-collector, since she had the information. I then questioned the validity of the call and debt and she indicated that I allegedly owed. Mrs. Saunders indicated and made the accusation that I, "fraudulently," took out a pay day loan with a Pact Enterprises company back in 2010. She further indicated that it was possibly an online company, but when I asked who the specific vendor was, she would not indicate this information. She further began to raise her voice and threatened that legal action was already in place and they were, basically, getting ready to "press the red button." "Mrs. Saunders" became increasingly aggressive as the call continued as I requested more information about the alleged debt and she further threatened legal action. I then agreed to go ahead and take care of the debt, despite the fact that I did not owe any money to my knowledge and she transferred me to the processing department. I reached a man named "Scott" and I asked him if I could pay by check over the phone and this "Scott" said they could only take a debit or credit card. He also informed me that the call would be recorded and "is that OK?" I said OK and told him that my card had been stolen recently and that I am awaiting a new one in the mail. "Scott" said I could call back when the new card arrived, but there would be a $9.95 fee to run the card - sounded legit, but that he could not take a check by phone? He also wouldn't give me a mailing address and said they are a "paperless environment." I also asked him if he could send me a copy of the bill - he refused - this is illegal. By law and according to the FTC, they are required to send you a "Validation Notice" or, in other words, a copy of the alleged bill. He then transferred me back to Mrs. Saunders, as he did not want to discuss anything further, who was adamant and further threatened legal action. I said I would have to wait until Friday, as that's when my credit card would arrive - so he said he would "notate my account." I had some very big questions after this call and was INCREDIBLY frustrated, as nothing made sense. I then decided to call back again, but this time from another phone line to see if I could obtain some relevant information from them. I spoke with another woman who sounded like Mrs. Saunders, but said her name was something else and I said I would like to know what their mailing address is. I asked this in a nice way and asked if they have a P.O. Box where I could send a letter. She said they do not have a physical or PO Box mailing address!? She said they are a "paperless environment," obviously scripted, but also - any REAL Bill collector will have AT LEAST a PO Box where you can mail a check. They don't even have a website that I could go to, so that I could make a payment online. OBVIOUSLY A HUGE SCAM!!! This is the 21st century! The whole thing felt scripted. I noticed there have been other occurrences on the web regarding a company going by the same name. Do not believe them! If someone was in the process of suing you, the court would notify you in person via a carrier who will serve you the court documents. They're likely not going to call you over the phone out of the blue. I reported this company to the FBI, the FTC and the State Attorney General. I recommend that you do the same if you receive a call from this horrible place! I personally think these people need to find a REAL job, instead of trying to take money from those of us who work our butts off to make a living.

It's better if you just never answer any call if you don't recognize the number and/or call back the number that provided by them. There's no any company that will just ask for any kind of payment over the phone without giving you time to appeal. There have also been so many warnings and reports filed at sites like xxxxxx and another similar sites about them since years ago. We should have been very familiar with them.