same here they hit my account for 300  tried to call the numnber only answering machine cancelled all my cards. don fall for this scam

My husband got a call from his aunt that a investigstor or dectective was looking for him as that he haf 48 hrs to respond or criminal charges would be placed against him so of course we freak thinking wtf is going in he said his name was detective grossman and the number was a 310 number which is from cali. Wrll we called and no answer so my husband left a message and got  call back today wich he missed! On the vm he said he worked for capital investigation services. Listening to to the message you can clearly hear it is a message this man says daily. Idk if its a scam like i hear here but this guy maes it sound like my husband will be going yo jail or something.

these people called my elderly mother and left a derogatory message on her answer machine. If you save the message, you can tell them that you will sue under the FDCPA and there are special marketing laws as well you can look up. If they threathened to arrest you or left you a vulgar message I would go down to your local police department and report them. If you are lucky the Police Officer will call them back for you and make a courtesy call. That is when they should back down or at least it will shake them up.. Making a threat of arrest, harrassment is a crime.

Dont respond to these calls I got the same calls in Dec/2008 they had my personal info and the past creditor I gone deliquent with; wishing to settle and clear my credit with this creditor I stupidly agreed to make monthly payments, by the time I gave them my debit card I realized it was too late and whent to my bank and closed my account TOO ALL BEWARE!!!! IT IS FRAUD

Just got a call from a lady claiming that I had an old long distance phone bill, FROM WHEN I LIVED IN THE DORMS!!!!!! We didn't have long distance in the dorms, I made all my calls on phone cards, or I called home collect, or I used my cell phone. no need to watch out for these scammers, they aren't too bright.

These people have called several tiomes in the last few days. They just left a message saying if I do not respond within 48 hours they will be issuing a warrant. they say it has to do with the city that I live in. I have not been able to find out more about these people or this supposed law firm, I think I will call back just to see what I can find out. The weird thing is this just happened to my partner but it was a different company and a slightly different m.o. when I find out more info I will post here for all others.

claimed to be a law office. been calling about 2 months. did not respond so my 48 hours BEEN up. renewed my dl. no incidents. must be scammers. fastest growing crime in u.s.? identity theft. b careful.oh and on a side note they change their # but the first six are still the same.

Received a couple of calls from this same phone number 410-878-2437.  They left the same message as "Liz" received.  I can find no attorney's office by this name and I really doubt that Mr. Kincaid (the caller) is a valid officer of the court.  Why would a court officer be calling from another state threatening legal action?  I don't know what this is about, but agree with everyone else this is a scam.  They are violating just about every rule in the book.

Just an FYI. After calling their bluff they have never called us again. I think they are somehow related to the scam out of Cleveland Ohio but have not been able to prove it.

I called these people back and they have my name but my girlfriends address and first 3 numbers of her social. they wanted the last 4 digits to confirm who it was. I would not give it to them.
I gave them the claim number left on our voicemail, they had trouble locating it. You could clearly hear others talking to people on the phone and being extremly rude. When a Ms. Worcester (?) came back on the line she tried to get the social again. When they kept having problems I told them they sounded like the same scammers that called earlier in the year and did that sound familiar? She laughed and tried to get the social one more time. I refused again. She proceeded to inform me that they would be issuing a warrant and would have the police out to pick us up. I told her I would have lunch waiting and that they needed to do better than that to get one by me. Everyone BEWARE!!! This screams SCAMMERS all the way.

I recieved a call from this company as well about an old debt I actually owed, I set up payment through my debit card, I then asked for cofirmation in writing in which I did not recieve. I called the number only to get voicemail. Then I called the second number they gave me which was disconnected. To make a long story short, I went to the bank cancelled my debit card so the relationship was gone. They called me today because the payment was due and I told them I knew what they were about and hung up. So, they are in fact scammers. Stay away from this number.

410-774-0204 Unknown Name
410-982-6838 Unknown Name
Received a message today from Capital Investigations. They claimed to be working for Wolfbergh & Stein, a law firm representing MasterCard and/or Wells Fargo, regarding a past due balance from 2000 - 2001.
While I did have a checking account with Wells Fargo a decade ago I have no recollection of having a MasterCard. I recently saw my credit report (and was declined credit) because I have NO CREDIT HISTORY FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS. This also means I have no outstanding past due debts, doesn't it?
When I did a web search for Wolfbergh & Stein on the web while I was on the phone with the investigator he was patient to a point. When I told him that I could not find a listing anywhere for Wolfbergh & Stein and had found only posts like these from people concerned they were being ripped off he seemed genuinely nonplussed. "They don't have a web site," he said.
He continued to ratchet up the pressure, insisting that if I wanted the reduced amount ($362 as opposed to $1000) I needed to act now. I told him I wasn't comfortable giving them my checking account, debit card, or credit card information but that I would be happy to mail a cashier's check. He didn't go for it, saying that Wolfbergh & Stein weren't accepting payments by mail.
I hope I don't really owe this money, but I guess I'll find out. He said that Wolfbergh & Stein were prepared to go to trial and would be issuing a summons in the next three to five days.
Seems to me that if Wolfbergh & Stein is a legitimate law firm in the state of New York they should have at least a web site, if not something on the web other than complaints.

All I have to say is they are very good at what they call Skip Tracing to find and try and collect on old debts. I called the number back to compliment them and advised I would not give the message to the party they were reaching and to remove my number. The gentleman Michael Judge was the name really tried his best to let me know this was a serious matter. Working for a major credit card company I could only sympathize with him about how bad the econmy was and I know that all creditors are taking every effort and even more effort today to collect on old debts. He thanked me for being polite and I wished him good luck on collecting on this next case.

These boneheads keep trying to bug me.  I assume they are trying to collect on some long-forgotten debt.  In any event I refuse to answer their messages or return their calls, but they are persistent!  Generally they will call on an off for a few weeks, sometimes leaving messages, sometimes not.  When they do, it's a dire sounding message regarding pending legal action, complete with case numbers and the like to make it seem legitimate.  The messages grow more dire and urgent to the point where they say it is essentially my last chance to take care of things out-of-court.  Then they go away for a while.

Give it a couple months and the cycle starts anew.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

Not once has any actual lawsuit been filed against me.  Their case numbers do not match the format used by the local courts, and the courts have no record of any cases being filed against me.  Nothing shows up on my credit, I never get anything in the mail, etc.  These are little more than enmpty threats.  

If you are called by these idiots, don't fear.  A legitimate attorney will not sic a call center on you to warn you of pending litigation.  If someone is suing you, you won't be notified by phone, you'd get a process server show up at your door.  These people are a joke.

I TOO HAVE SPOKE TO MS. TINA. I HAVE BEEN PAYING THIS FOR LIKE 8 MONTHS. IS THIS COMPANY LEGIT OR NOT. I FEEL SO STUPID THAT I DID NOT DO RESEARCH. BUT BECAUSE I AM TRYING TO CLEAR UP MY CREDIT DUE TO JOB SEARCH ETC, WHAT SHOULD I DO. i HAVE ONE MORE PAYMENT TO MAKE AND SOMEONE ELSE CALLED ME IN REGARDS TO THE SAME ACCOUNT THEY HAVE BEEN COLLECTING ON (DISCOVER). HELP ME PLEASE. I AM SO DISTRAUGHT RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I WAS SO FOCUS ON JUST CLEARING UP MY DEBT AND ITS NOT UNTIL NOW I DECIDED TO DO RESEARCH NOW THAT I HAVE ACCESS TO A COMPUTER THAT I AM SEEING THESE BLOGS.

I JUST CALLED MY BANKS, AND THIS CAMPANY HAS BEEN TAKEN MONEY OUT OF MY ACCOUNT FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS.  NOW MY BANK GAVE ME A NUMBER TO CONTACT THEM 1-877-351-4689 AND THE ONLY THING I GET IS AN ANSWERING MACHINE.

I UNDERSTAND THATS ALL I WAS TRYING TO DO TO KEEP MY JOB

Caller claims to be from "Wolfberg & Stein", which does not appear to exist.
I have researched this business name under several spellings and in several locations and find no evidence of its existence.
Says his name is Joe Norton, that he is a claims processor for the above company and asserts a civil suit has been filed against me.
I am certain this is a scam or a collecton agency.  I have been warned that once you talk to these people they will never leave you alone despite the fact that they know they have the wrong person.  They just want to collect no matter what and will go to unscrupulous lengths to do so.
I have checked my credit and it is unblemished, so at least I do not feel that there has been identity theft.

I would recommend you to this website for all FAQ and if you still have further questions or need help, call the number on the website: http://www.ftc.gov

I was a victim of this kind of call and it was from A.I Solutions and they said they are working together with Wolfburg & Stein. I searched both companies under the Better Business Bureau and found nothing. So decided to call both FBI and Federal Trade Commission to report this scam, opened a case for investigation, and put a fraud alert on all my credit cards plus with TransUnion.

Take these precautions and don't be a victim. Don't let those scammers take your hard earned money!!!

look at the debt  if it's beyond 7 or 10 years depends on your state tell them it's beyond the Statue of Limitations

they have a new number and its 410-800-4835..tried to scam money from me on a bill that was already paid.. turning them into my attorney..

The have a new number also its 410-800-4835....they tried to scam me out of some money on a bill I had already paid..faxed them the paid in full paper and told them would be having my attorney look into them and I wanted to speak to the attorney who was trying to sue me..got some idiot said he worked for the attorney and that I couldnt have the attorney daniel fullmans number...taking all this info up to my attorney and let him handle it...

They now call themselves AIS or ARS, it's hard to hear clearly. They have a new number, 678-834-0590; this is an unpublished number in the Atlanta, GA area. They still refer to the law firm of Wolfburgh & Stein, but googling that law firm name only brings up blogs like this.

Great i just looked at my bank statement some how they got 40 dollars out of my account.  this is how its titled on the statement  WOLFBURGH AND STEIN LBALTIMORE BALTIMORE MD.  ive never given my info to anyone.

I also got a call from this company. Yes, Tina Powers called stating that she would throw me in jail if I did not call her back in 15 mintues.  I reported this to the Trade Commission.

Bi***,your spelling & trying to get your point across is very kindergarden. Invest in a pocket sized webster dictionary,so when you google you won't sound so ignorant.lol..

Are you aware that you CAN SUE THEM for this? YES - YOU CAN
What they did was illegal - and you are entitled to sue them for FDCPA violations.
COLLECTION AGENCIES DO NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION!
FROM www.budhibbs.com  A CONSUMER ADVOCATE WEBSITE that specializes in Debt Collections and offers assistance to consumers.  THEY ALSO EXPOSE THE WORST FDCPA VIOLATOR IN THE COUNTRY
Dealing with debt collectors
http://www.budhibbs.com/start.html
Statute of limitations by state ? always double check directly with your own State Government Website
http://www.budhibbs.com/statute_of_limitations.htm
Recording calls from debt collectors ? always double check with your own State Government website
http://www.budhibbs.com/record.htm
From FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION WEBSITE
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre18.shtm

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.


Debt Collection FAQs: A Guide for Consumers
If you?re behind in paying your bills, or a creditor?s records mistakenly make it appear that you are, a debt collector may be contacting you.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation?s consumer protection agency, enforces the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from you.

Under the FDCPA, a debt collector is someone who regularly collects debts owed to others. This includes collection agencies, lawyers who collect debts on a regular basis, and companies that buy delinquent debts and then try to collect them.

Here are some questions and answers about your rights under the Act.

What types of debts are covered?
The Act covers personal, family, and household debts, including money you owe on a personal credit card account, an auto loan, a medical bill, and your mortgage. The FDCPA doesn?t cover debts you incurred to run a business.

Can a debt collector contact me any time or any place?
No. A debt collector may not contact you at inconvenient times or places, such as before 8 in the morning or after 9 at night, unless you agree to it. And collectors may not contact you at work if they?re told (orally or in writing) that you?re not allowed to get calls there.


How can I stop a debt collector from contacting me?

If a collector contacts you about a debt, you may want to talk to them at least once to see if you can resolve the matter ? even if you don?t think you owe the debt, can?t repay it immediately, or think that the collector is contacting you by mistake. If you decide after contacting the debt collector that you don?t want the collector to contact you again, tell the collector ? in writing ? to stop contacting you. Here?s how to do that:

Make a copy of your letter. Send the original by certified mail, and pay for a ?return receipt? so you?ll be able to document what the collector received. Once the collector receives your letter, they may not contact you again, with two exceptions: a collector can contact you to tell you there will be no further contact or to let you know that they or the creditor intend to take a specific action, like filing a lawsuit. Sending such a letter to a debt collector you owe money to does not get rid of the debt, but it should stop the contact. The creditor or the debt collector still can sue you to collect the debt.

Can a debt collector contact anyone else about my debt?
If an attorney is representing you about the debt, the debt collector must contact the attorney, rather than you. If you don?t have an attorney, a collector may contact other people ? but only to find out your address, your home phone number, and where you work. Collectors usually are prohibited from contacting third parties more than once. Other than to obtain this location information about you, a debt collector generally is not permitted to discuss your debt with anyone other than you, your spouse, or your attorney.

What does the debt collector have to tell me about the debt?
Every collector must send you a written ?validation notice? telling you how much money you owe within five days after they first contact you. This notice also must include the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money, and how to proceed if you don?t think you owe the money.

Can a debt collector keep contacting me if I don?t think I owe any money?
If you send the debt collector a letter stating that you don?t owe any or all of the money, or asking for verification of the debt, that collector must stop contacting you. You have to send that letter within 30 days after you receive the validation notice. But a collector can begin contacting you again if it sends you written verification of the debt, like a copy of a bill for the amount you owe.


What practices are off limits for debt collectors?

Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact. For example, they may not:

use threats of violence or harm;
publish a list of names of people who refuse to pay their debts (but they can give this information to the credit reporting companies);
use obscene or profane language; or
repeatedly use the phone to annoy someone.
False statements. Debt collectors may not lie when they are trying to collect a debt. For example, they may not:

falsely claim that they are attorneys or government representatives;
falsely claim that you have committed a crime;
falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit reporting company;
misrepresent the amount you owe;
indicate that papers they send you are legal forms if they aren?t; or
indicate that papers they send to you aren?t legal forms if they are.
Debt collectors also are prohibited from saying that:

you will be arrested if you don?t pay your debt;
they?ll seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so; or
legal action will be taken against you, if doing so would be illegal or if they don?t intend to take the action.
Debt collectors may not:

give false credit information about you to anyone, including a credit reporting company;
send you anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency if it isn?t; or
use a false company name.
Unfair practices. Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices when they try to collect a debt. For example, they may not:

try to collect any interest, fee, or other charge on top of the amount you owe unless the contract that created your debt ? or your state law ? allows the charge;
deposit a post-dated check early;
take or threaten to take your property unless it can be done legally; or
contact you by postcard.
Can I control which debts my payments apply to?
Yes. If a debt collector is trying to collect more than one debt from you, the collector must apply any payment you make to the debt you select. Equally important, a debt collector may not apply a payment to a debt you don?t think you owe.

Can a debt collector garnish my bank account or my wages?
If you don?t pay a debt, a creditor or its debt collector generally can sue you to collect. If they win, the court will enter a judgment against you. The judgment states the amount of money you owe, and allows the creditor or collector to get a garnishment order against you, directing a third party, like your bank, to turn over funds from your account to pay the debt.

Wage garnishment happens when your employer withholds part of your compensation to pay your debts. Your wages usually can be garnished only as the result of a court order. Don?t ignore a lawsuit summons. If you do, you lose the opportunity to fight a wage garnishment.

Can federal benefits be garnished?
Many federal benefits are exempt from garnishment, including:

Social Security Benefits
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits
Veterans? Benefits
Civil Service and Federal Retirement and Disability Benefits
Service Members? Pay
Military Annuities and Survivors? Benefits
Student Assistance
Railroad Retirement Benefits
Merchant Seamen Wages
Longshoremen?s and Harbor Workers? Death and Disability Benefits
Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Benefits
Compensation for Injury, Death, or Detention of Employees of U.S. Contractors Outside the U.S.
Federal Emergency Management Agency Federal Disaster Assistance
But federal benefits may be garnished under certain circumstances, including to pay delinquent taxes, alimony, child support, or student loans.

Do I have any recourse if I think a debt collector has violated the law?
You have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. If you win, the judge can require the collector to pay you for any damages you can prove you suffered because of the illegal collection practices, like lost wages and medical bills. The judge can require the debt collector to pay you up to $1,000, even if you can?t prove that you suffered actual damages. You also can be reimbursed for your attorney?s fees and court costs. A group of people also may sue a debt collector as part of a class action lawsuit and recover money for damages up to $500,000, or one percent of the collector?s net worth, whichever amount is lower. Even if a debt collector violates the FDCPA in trying to collect a debt, the debt does not go away if you owe it.

What should I do if a debt collector sues me?
If a debt collector files a lawsuit against you to collect a debt, respond to the lawsuit, either personally or through your lawyer, by the date specified in the court papers to preserve your rights.

Where do I report a debt collector for an alleged violation?
Report any problems you have with a debt collector to your state Attorney General?s office (www.naag.org) and the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov). Many states have their own debt collection laws that are different from the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Your Attorney General?s office can help you determine your rights under your state?s law.

For More Information
To learn more about debt collection and other credit-related issues, visit www.ftc.gov/credit and MyMoney.gov, the U.S. government?s portal to financial education.

They are breaking the law - both State and Federal.  

Any collection attempt that starts out like this are illegal.  
They cannot make threats
DEBT IS A CIVIL MATTER NOT A CRIMINAL MATTER

They cannot refuse to send debt validation

All this means is that they are attempting to collect worthless legally uncollectable debt.  They cannot prove the debt is valid so they break fed and state laws to EXTORT MONEY YOU DO NOT OWE

SO SHA-SHA IS A LIAR who works for them and is trying to scare everyone.

I am so glad that I am finding all this information about how much of a scam this is. Unfortunately, It was a bit late for me, but my bank was able to provide me with a refund.  I was contacted by a Ms. Tina Powers approximately in August of 2008. She stated that she was calling from Capital Investigator Services as a private investigator for Wolfberg & Stein. She stated that they were hired to investigate whatever assets I may have so that if I do not agree to pay off my debt originally owed to Discover Credit Card, a lien would be placed on them.  To my surprise, that I was threatened with a civil action, I decided that I wanted to settle the debt since I was in process of repairing my credit.  I agreed to a settlement since this "actual debt" cost me two job opportunities in the past. I repeatedly asked for monthly statements, and was told that I would only be given a confirmation of my agreement through email (which I got at dejahjoseph1@hotmail.com), and then after the final payment is made.

Recently, I was contacted by another Collection Agency trying to collect on the same account.  When I informed Ms. Powers of this situation, I was told to ignore it and to just wait until I get notice from them after my final payment to send to the credit bureaus.  However, in recently pulling my credit report, I found that Capital Investigator Services, nor Wolfburgh & Stein are on my Experian credit report.  They stated they did not have a website.  I contacted Ms. Powers again today 07/30/2009 (3rd time for the week) and asked for a copy of a statement showing all my payments and a physical address for their company and why they didn?t have a website.  She told me to send my request by fax to Daniel Fullham at (443) 218-1405.  In addition, she said she doesn?t know why there is no website and she doesn?t know anything about that because she?s just a private investigator.  

I contacted the Attorney General?s Office and was informed that they were not licensed by them, nor are they registered with the Better Business Bureau.  I researched CIS and Wolfberg & Stein using Google, etc. and found only a list of sites with bloggers stating they have been harassed by these same people. The bloggers were mentioning Ms. Powers and names of others threatening the same civil action and arrest warrants if they do not cooperate, and rude customer service.  After speaking with my Bank, no one could help me to figure out if this company is legit or not.  They have 4 different telephone numbers and counting, but I always speak to the same person over and over.  I am very frustrated because I was so happy to know that I would be paying off this debt as it cost me to loose on opportunities in the past.  

No one can prove who Capital Investigator Services Is, and now I would like to know have I been a victim of a collection scam when I?m already working pay check to pay check.Capital Investigator Services or whoever Wolfberg & Stein won?t send notices by mail stating what dates my payments were collected, but I have records from my Bank (Thank God). They only communicated once through email, and when I made contact with them to schedule future payments.  My question for the past few days are: Who are these people now that all these blogs are saying they are scams. I am in process of contacting each credit bureau to file disputes, and I hope I can get to the bottom of this.

I would like to find out who are Capital Investigator Services and/or Wolfberg & Stein.  They say they are attorneys but yet there is no website under either company's name.  These are the following phone numbers they can be contacted at (410)878-7057, (443) 451-1858, (410) 878-2437, (410) 344-7742, and the auditing department Eric Bryan at (877) 351-4689. I did a 411 Directory Reverse Look up and they too were unable to provide any address or other information for any of the telephone numbers above. Online only pulls up blogs on people stating the different scams they contacted them with; nothing else.  I would like to know who they are, how they got a hold of this debt account.  If they are a legit business, why aren?t they registered with both you the BBB and the Attorney Generals Office.  Who are they?

PLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE DO NOT PAY THIS COMPANY....IM GLAD THAT MY BANK IS WORKING WITH ME TO ATLEAST GET BACK HALF RATHER THAN NOTHING....BUT TO DATE, MY COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN FILED WITH THE BBB, AGO, FTC, AND I HAVE DISPUTED EVERY LAST THING ON MY CREDIT REPORTS INCLUDING PUTTING A FRAUD ALERT........ HOW COULD THEY EVEN SLEEP AT NIGHT KNOWING WHAT THEY ARE DOING. THEY ARENT EVEN ON MY REPORT........ THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL THE INFORMATION.

I received a call several days ago from Tina Powers that as for me, my father, or my sister. She said that she was from CI Services and to call her back at 443 451 1851. The number she called from was 410 800 4835. I was told to refer to case CU1012. I called back but all operators were busy. She then called me back hours later but I missed the call (thankfully). I would NEVER give out information over the phone, especially if I'm not the one that initiated the call. I will not be calling her back because I don't have time to deal with BS like this. She stated that their hours were 11 am to 9 pm EST while the automated teller stated 9 am to 9 pm. I can't find anything else about this business and I wouldn't give them the time of day if I were you.