The civil process world is not immune to scams such as Phishing and Nigerian Prince Scams. It’s a scary situation for those being served, because most people want to comply with what they perceive as the law. Although respectful, a lack of knowledge on potential scams causes a person to become more susceptible.
Process servers fill an essential role in the legal service. They are there to let those named in the case know that there is an impending lawsuit against them. For whatever reason they are being served, the named individual has a constitutional right to be made aware of the pending action. The one function of a process server is to serve court papers and nothing else.
Here’s four ways you can spot them.
1.) Process servers do not usually call ahead of time since this gives people time to avoid being served court papers.
2.) A process server will never ask for any money. They do not collect money owed for divorce cases, child support, or any other legal reason.
3.) If the caller has trouble pronouncing the name of your city or county, they are probably a scammer. Process servers are local and will know the names of the surrounding communities.
4.) A real process server does not need your social security number and will never ask for it. In fact, you should never give your SSN to anyone who calls to request it.
Finally, if you think you have received a serve from a less than legitimate server be sure to stay calm. They first thing they are going to try to do is intimidate you. So write down any information they tell you and notify the authorities. The police want to know the latest scam that is happening in their community.
By Vince Vitale
Source: Debt Collection Scams – AARP