The scum out there that are called 3rd party debt collectors use a lot of shady tactics That's how they survive. I don't know what kind of attorney you talked to, but I'd advise you to find a better one. The purchase of a written off debt does NOT re-set the clock on it in regards to the revalidation of the debt. Only actually making a payment on it will do so.
The reason that so many 3rd party debt collection outfits are called "Junk/Zombie" debt collectors is because the "debt" they so cheaply purchase is exactly that...JUNK! It is invalid. For many reasons. It could have been terminated due to bankruptcy, it could already be settled to an another entity or the original creditor or ,most commonly, it has passed the Statute of Limitations (SOL) in the debtors state. The SOLs vary by state. In some the SOLs in regards to debt are as little as three years. This is not to say that some cubicle-clown working for a Junk Debt Buyer (JDB) can't try to collect on it. That's what they do. They simply have no legal recourse available to them to pursue it. They are impotent in every legal sense. Some of the real bottom feeders actually do try to sue on an invalid debt. They are betting on a default judgement being awarded to them based on a failure to appear by the defendant. It's thought that up to 80% of judgements against debtors are obtained in this manner. Which is why no one should ever ignore a summons.
Not many legitimate summons are ever received from invalid debt collectors though. It's generally not worth the time, and effort, to attempt to pursue an invalid debt. Which brings me to my next point. When a JDB purchases a "debt", even if valid, the "fees" that are involved will be regulated by the state in which the supposed debtor resides. Regardless of the "fine print" on any supposed contract. If a contract is in violation of the law, it is invalid. There is NO way that a $500 debt will EVER accrue fees of up to $19,540 in ANY state. EVER!
Fraudulent and/or bogus debt collectors will use any method imaginable in order to collect on an invalid debt. Including the placement of Shill posts on sites like this. An intelligent person will never be fooled. The people that call, and the Shills that post, are never hired for their intelligence. They are minimum-wage flunkies attempting to bolster their income with the commissions earned by actually collecting on invalid, or fictitious debts. They are invariably desperate, usually unable to gain real employment. They all like to think they're sly. None are. Their rare successes lead them to believe they are. They overlook the hundreds of failures they've made before they find that one gullible person.
It's quite easy to dis-arm a bogus debt collector. Research & know your rights under the FDCPA. Know how to DEMAND that notice of validation be mailed (NOT e-mail or fax.) to you. Knowledge is power. Power that fraudulent debt collectors pray that you don't have.
Be Safe. Be Aware.
Gunnar

} once purchased, the debt becomes new

A junk debt buyer cannot renew a Statute of Limitations period merely by purchasing an account. An alleged debtor must be tricked into making a payment or an "admission against interest" before that happens. A JDB might pretend the debt is re-aged through credit reporting, but that's a different matter for a FCRA lawsuit.

} companies that have the money, power ... will follow through with a civil judgement against you

Granted, and not "granite", dirty debt buyers and their collecting henchmen like to bait lures and set traps, but let's not assume they always win by default. They typically cannot validate their debt claims, making them soft targets when they sue, easy to frustrate so they *don't* sue, and motivated to violate laws to cut a short path to a person's assets. It's that very lawbreaking which is their undoing in counterclaims and FDCPA actions ... or at least it should be, except that most of their victims don't demand validation and don't fight back.

Yes it is a scam.  They are required to send you a statement of the debt and all particulars and they have to send it to you US mail.  e-mail no good.  No debt validation letter, no payment. Do not give them any money, do not five them any information. They are trying to scare you into paying them money.

Report them:  https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0149-debt-collection

im getting calls from the same number, 855-674-8352 they leave messages on my cell and home phone number confirming last four of my social, saying they are going to serve me time sensitive case documents to my last known address in LA etc etc. for awhile it was getting to me, making me worry, afraid of knocks at my door, etc. i never returned any of the calls. well finally i talked to an attorney that specializes in these kind of cases and what happens is our debts (even 15 yrs old) get purchased by companies such as CACH,LLC before the statue of limitations on the debt is exceeded. once purchased, the debt becomes new and  the new creditor goes after you through whatever contact info is on the original debt and whatever info they can manage to scrounge up by doing credit searches, google and believe it or not...FACEBOOK & social sites they can get alot of info from, just when you think you are safe because you have settings set to private or friends only, they create a fictional profile, that graduated from same high school same year as you, etc and become friends with your friends and so on. once they have enough solid info on you, they start slammin you with the phone calls hoping you will take the bait. These debts of ours can be sold over and over again, gaining new creditors when purchased. Now, granite most of these companies are small time bottom dwellers that give it their best shot with threatening calls and fake case numbers before selling it to the next fish, but beware, companies that have the money, power and sophisticated technological tracking software do exist (ie: CACH,LLC) and will follow through  with a civil judgement against you equip with late fees, legal and service fees etc that could turn a 15 yr old cc debt of $500 into a $19,540.00 civil judgement. so keep your social networking limited, always research any attempt made on you to collect a debt and research good debt/bankruptcy  attorneys to have on standby just in case...  good luck

I received a phone call from a number that was 855-674-8351 they told me I owed a bill for 2200. But would settle for 1200.00  I told them that I don't work at this moment and to take me to court.  Then I called them back and to offer payment arrangements and they said they could settle for 1000.00 but I need to tell them within 2 hours if I could come up with the money.  I couldn't so a friend of mine said call them and ask them for their email address.  Write them an email stating I would pay what the card limit was, which was only 400. Or ask them for a 5$ payment plan.  When I called they told me they don't give out their email address but Would now take $588.00. But wanted my debit card number.  Yay ok not doing that!  They also said the statue of limitation expires in September.  This sounds like a scam to me, what do you think?

Get these blocked calls all the time and they tell me that I have a case against me and to call Ross Warren & Associates @ 1-855-596-4666 and then some blocked calls telling me to contact Goldblum & Associates @ 1-855-675-1309. This has been going on for over two years and never once seen a paper to be served. I have no unpaid debts and no write offs on my credit report. This is all a scam and now when they call I just laugh at them and tell them to go F___ themselves.  

Same thing happened to me some Martha Cruz lady called me saying the needed to serve me court papers about a debt I owed over 11 years ago and I needed to call(855)674-8352 and give them my "court order #" which she provided me with SC-61152 So when I called a gentlemen answered said there was no Martha Cruz that worked there but would pull my file. When he did he said you should've gotten a settlement letter 30 days ago then I asked what company I was calling he said goldbloom and associates when I asked him to spell it he hung up which is how I ended up in this forum

Same thing happened to me....same number, same person.  
I will report to FTC

I  googled the address that is listed by someone above (2222 Michelson Dr Ste 222
Irvine, California 92612) and it is a Western Union (Pack N Ship) money transfer location. Street view on google maps very clearly shows that is the store at this address which is in a strip mall. This is not an attorneys office and clearly a scam!

I forgot to add Suite 222 to the address above.

I, too, have experienced the exact same thing. Last week I received a voicemail call from a Liz Gonzales. My neighbor received the call as well. This Liz Gonzales person also said she had papers to serve me and I had a court hearing. I am a former paralegal so I'm very aware of legal processing. To discover whether there was an active case in the district clerk's office or county clerk's office where I live, I did a name search on both of their websites. There are no pending civil claims against me. Creditors are not allowed to file their lawsuits in federal court so I didn't even bother looking in the federal courts in my district.

When I attempted to contact them earlier this week, a man answered the phone and spoke the name of the company very quickly. I asked him to repeat it, and he hung up on me. I contacted him again and he, too, answered law office. I told him that I had received a phone call from a Liz Gonzales last Thursday, and he told me that there wasn't a Liz Gonzales working in that office and I must have been mistaken. He was very rude and told me that they don't serve lawsuits. Moving forward several days, I had my mother contact them pretending to be me (and I have included this information in my complaint with consumerfinance.gov (I believe this is a subsidiary of the FTC, but please verify this to ease your mind when filing a complaint) trying to elicit information about this alleged debt that I owed. She called and the man said I owed almost $7000 but was willing to settle the debt for a little over $2000. The contact and mailing information he provided to send payment was Craig Foster, Goldblum & Associates, 2222 Michelson Drive, Irvine, California 92612. After my mom got off the phone, I pulled my credit report from the three credit agencies and there is nothing even remotely close to resembling a $7000 debt to a credit card company. My mom called him back and told him that the debt they were claiming was not on my credit report. They told her that the creditor was Household Bank, and it was for several different transactions for home furnishings. For one, I haven't purchased any home furnishings on a credit card for over 10 years, and the few things I have needed to replace in my home, I have paid for those items with cash. He said he was going to send me a settlement letter in the mail in a few days, but I am sure I will not be hearing from them again. THIS IS A SCAM. DO NOT PAY ANYTHING! I can't imagine all the people out there who do have some outstanding debts and for whatever reason have not been able to pay the debt getting scammed out of money they already do not have. It is disgusting. For those of you who are getting harassed by these people, you can send a cease and desist letter to the address listed above by certified mail/return receipt requested, and they shouldn't be able to contact you anymore. Make sure you tell them not to call you at home or office. Please file a report with FTC. Since you obtained the contact information from this forum, you might want to make sure from a representative of consumerfinance that you can include that information on your report as well. Otherwise, you will probably need to pretend to want to pay off the debt. Please note that I am not holding myself out as an attorney, and none of the information I have provided constitutes legal advice. Just information from one concerned citizen to another.

Got a call from a blocked number that left a message. The lady said her name was Martha Cruz and that she was a process server coming to serve me an "SC-100 on a civil case" unless I called 855-702-9345 and gave them my case number SC****. I called the number she left and when the person answered I asked what company i had reached and the man stated "this is not a company this is a law firm you obviously have the wrong number" and hung up. I called back and got someone else and said I had received a call from this number and he said "we don't make outbound calls" and then hung up. So I tried a third time and got what I think is the receptionist. She answered the phone "corporate office". I asked what firm I had reached and she mumbled something so I asked her to spell it she said "Golblum & Associates" then asked for my case number and transferred me. The gentleman who answered asked if I was "served by a constable or sheriff". I said neither. He said "you are being sued by Chase bank" to which I said that account has been under a repayment plan since 2010. and he responded "delegate it in court" and hung up.

There is definitely something odd going on with this entire setup. I have never had a debt collector be so unwilling to speak with me. I have in the past been called on items already in repayment and have been told to send the documentation which I have done and that settles things. These people wont even let me get a sentence out, seem to have no interest that they are trying to collect on something already being paid off and they wont even tell me the proper company name or website. This makes no sense at all!

I just got a call for them as well. Said they were coming to serve me papers on a civil case. I called but when I asked the guy who answered to spell the name of the company (so I could google it) he told me to give him my docket number or never call back and then hung up. This seems very shady. Number that called me was 855-702-9345 they left a case number that start with Sc and is followed 5 digits.

How do I report them to the ftc? I had to change my debit card because of them, I'm not happy about it, thank God they didn't get anything out of me
Phone number is 8557029345
Case number #SC38178

Please make sure you really do report them. They are incredibly shady!

Same story They called my work and harassing me I have to report these people to FTC

The people calling are lying about serving you paperwork. According to the FTC, debt collectors are not allowed to lie to debtors. Get their information and tell them you are going to call the FTC and report them.

They called me yesterday saying I need to wait for the constable to serve me some paperwork tomorrow. I asked what debtor was serving me they tell me Credit One this is the bill I had back in 2006 now they decide to take me to court.  I'm thinking about filing for bankruptcy too.

Got a terrible connection. saying I'm being taken to court over an old bill. I only make $10 an hour. All this will do is force me into bankruptcy and I don't even have the fees for that. calling 211 is a joke. They told me to contact them and take my lumps. I know they are funded by United Way but they are giving misguided advice.