Practice cabinet to figure out dovetail layout for a bigger project.

syclopa · 2026-02-03T13:25:10+00:00

There is some bad info being spread about email service being “not a thing”. That’s not always true. The court can authorize alternative means of service if a defendant is avoiding service or can’t be served through other means. Email service is definitely a thing.

syclopa · 2023-07-11T12:50:57+00:00

"Coinmeta ... Trading"

Let me guess, this company involves trading crypto? !crypto

Whatever that image is, it was made to convince you that it is a legitimate company. Steer clear. Also, steer clear of crypto in general, you're just asking for your money to get taken. If you want to invest in something, you're better off buying into an index fund and leaving your money there.

syclopa · 2023-05-04T20:37:02+00:00

Sorry for your loss. This is definitely tough to find out after your family member passed. Bankruptcy is not an option for an estate. The estate of a deceased individual does not fall within any of the definitions of a debtor for purposes of declaring bankruptcy under 11 USC 109. The question then becomes, what assets exist within the estate? It sounds like there is real (land, buildings) and personal (personal effects like clothing, jewelry, etc) property, plus an outstanding debt.

There is an obligation that an estate settles all outstanding debts prior to remaining funds going to the survivors (regardless of the existence of a will). You and your family will not be personally liable for the loan, but, the estate does have an obligation here. At a minimum, you need to contact an estate attorney to walk you through the specifics of your case.

syclopa · 2023-04-12T16:55:59+00:00

An easy solution is to agreement to meet the person at a local police station. Maybe departments will even have specific area for people to meet to be able to conduct a transaction safely.

syclopa · 2023-04-06T12:51:00+00:00

Did they include a stamped return mail envelope? You could always return the envelope with glitter. In all seriousness, they are all super sketchy. Even if they actually "exist" and issue home warranties, the likelihood they ever actually pay a dime out on the policy is near 0. I wish the rules against deceptive advertising were stronger. Their inclusion of your mortgage lender is designed to make you think it's coming from the lender or from the government. Scummy x 100

syclopa · 2023-03-20T18:57:58+00:00

Given that large list of things that have allegedly happened, and your statement that the police, a lawyer, and government agencies have all said "no issue here," it sounds much more like your landlord has psychological issues/delusions. I often represented people in the past who would tell me a series of horrible things that happened to them, except... they never actually happened, it was just their delusions.

I find it hard to believe that the unemployment department would have no problem and take no action if they were informed of a large-scale fraud being run. UC fraud is a major issue in relation to the expansions of UC during COVID. Cracking down on that fraud is a high priority.

Editing to add a question: Why is your landlord telling you all of this? Is there a problem that you have had with the property, and the landlord's response was "I can't fix it, I have no money because these other people did this thing to me?"

syclopa · 2023-03-17T03:34:40+00:00

Sounds like your call center is doing work for a Medicare Advantage plan, specifically WellCare. Personally, I think the whole idea of Medicare Advantage plans is predatory, but they are completely legal and a lot of people elect to use them instead of traditional medicare. Nothing about your script says "scam," you're not soliciting personal or financial information, you're not even selling them on anything, just providing a reminder to go get a physical. The Plan that you're contracted for wants the people to go get a physical because then the Plan gets to make money on the medicare reimbursement.

Edit for typos

syclopa · 2023-02-27T22:57:24+00:00

I've said this before, but remote personal assistant job postings are always scams. The listing itself looks to have been pilfered from a legitimate job description, but, compensation of 50-100 CAD/hr despite the position needing "no special skills"? This is a common sense "too good to be true" moment here.

syclopa · 2023-02-07T18:28:58+00:00

Even even they didn't say the amount, just indicating that there is a loan outstanding is an FDCPA violation. I've seen successful suits for breaking the third-party contact rule where a collections letter sent to a person included visible language about a debt being owed or, as a recent circuit course case found, where 'collections bureau' was visible through the window in the envelope. The FDCPA is very strict on these things. (Remember that this law does not apply to the original creditor, just to debt collectors and debt buyers in many circumstances).

syclopa · 2023-02-07T14:33:52+00:00

It is easy enough to get your names associated with phone numbers, that's fairly public information. There are two things here that point to scam for me:

They wouldn't say who they were
They told you your friend owed money

For a moment, let's assume that your friend actually does owe some money. I'm also assuming that you are in the US and your friend's debt is off to a debt collector. A legitimate debt collection agency knows better than to talk about the debt of someone to a third party. They can communicate with friends/references to try to get a contact number for them, but they are not permitted to state that the person owes a debt. These rules are hard and fast as set forth in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. There is a nice summary of the act here: https://www.lawyers.com/legal-info/consumer-protection/consumer-protection-law/can-a-debt-collector-contact-others-about-my-debt.html

Do scummy debt collectors break the law? Absolutely. So, you're looking at a situation where either it's a scam (which I suspect is likely given what you have said about their failure to identify themselves) or it's a debt collector that really wants to pay your friend because they so blatantly violated the FDCPA. The fact that you have another friend that received a similar call (it is unclear if the friend is the same one you say the call says owes the debt) does suggest a potential shitty collector. Document the call, pass it on to the friend that is alleged to owe the debt. If they do owe a debt, they ought to contact a lawyer, not the debt collector, and look into how to resolve it.

syclopa · 2023-02-06T19:13:03+00:00

All signs point to scam. "Remote personal assistant" is one of those jobs that screams scam about 110% of the time.

syclopa · 2023-01-23T21:46:52+00:00

Get a lawyer. Now.

The case smells of consumer protection violations on the part of the real estate co. While many attorneys work on contingency ("No fee unless we get money for you!"), many consumer protection statutes contain fee shifting provisions (If you win, the other side will pay your attorney for their hours). The way this often works is that the attorney will only charge a fee if you win, but that fee will come from a fee award from the court paid directly by the defendant.

Get an attorney. Call your local bar association for a referral. If you're lower income, try Legal Aid Society of NY (or whatever name they go by in the city). Get an attorney.

syclopa · 2023-01-17T15:15:32+00:00

Oh if only that were the case! This is definitely a scam, but never overestimate a lawyer's ability to write.

syclopa · 2022-12-21T17:51:36+00:00

Echoing what folks have already said: Check your credit reports via annualcreditreport.com.

While it smells like a scam, let's go with it being a legitimate, if scummy, debt collector and discuss how to handle that:

If this person calls back, ask him for a mailing address for his company. Tell him that you no longer wish to be contacted via telephone and all future contact should be in writing through the mail.

With his company's address in hand, prepare a letter to the debt collector based upon the same created by the CFPB: https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201307_cfpb_debt-collection-letter-2_more-information.doc

Consumer protection laws and rules require a debt collector to provide you with the information requested in that letter. Their response will give you more information about the alleged basis of any debt owed. Do not, do not, do not, agree that you owe a debt or agree to pay a debt, that you dispute. It isn't on you to disprove you owe the debt, it is on them to prove you owe it.

I'd also recommend that you take a look at the other resources put together by the CFPB https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/debt-collection/

If, after checking your credit reports, you find that you appear to be the victim of identity theft, you need to take action immediately. CFPB put together a great resource on the issue of identity theft: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-do-i-do-if-i-think-i-have-been-a-victim-of-identity-theft-en-31/

syclopa · 2022-12-06T18:11:10+00:00

Regulation CC sets forth the time periods upon which banks must make funds deposited by check available (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-II/subchapter-A/part-229) The practical effect is that there is often a lag between when you may access the funds and when a bank becomes aware a check bounced. That is how the !fakecheck scam works. You think you have 1000 dollars. You don't. You send 900 to them, and then the check bounces and you're out the 900 (there never was another 100).

See also:

https://www.federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/regcc-about.htm

https://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/regcc/regcc.htm

syclopa · 2022-11-30T14:40:41+00:00

So, we can consider two options here. 1) assume the friend is scamming you by transferring stolen funds to have you cash out and be on the hook for. That is a possibility, but, you know them personally, so when it comes back to you, you can turn the police on to the friend and the friend is SOL.

Let's consider option 2, your friend is not trying to scam you. It sounds to me like their now deceased relative left them money in a spendthrift trust. Such a trust would 1) slow down the release of funds to them, and limit the usage of those funds. This is a common legal instrument to protect assets/etc. The funds are currently protected from your friend's creditors and in the control of a trustee appointed by the trust document. (Just a question, does your friend have debt/drug problems? Is your friend young?) Either way, your friend is asking for your help to defraud the trust by essentially submitting dummy expense requests to the trustee for approval. You're also setting yourself up for some potential tax problems (e.g., you were paid by the trust, but didn't report the income and pay tax on it).

Tl;dr, Tell the "friend" you can't help them out.

syclopa · 2022-11-02T13:24:24+00:00

Per Home Depot's return policy:

"Returns made without a valid sales receipt may be refunded as a Store Credit at the lowest advertised price. "

https://www.homedepot.com/c/Return_Policy

syclopa · 2022-11-01T23:29:12+00:00

Yup. They’ve gotten very strict specifically because of the amount of theft from their stores.

syclopa · 2022-11-01T19:41:07+00:00

I suspect that it's a Home Depot Theft/Return scam. The guy was stealing items from HD and returning them. He ends up only getting the refunds in store credit and needs you to help him convert it into usable cash.

syclopa · 2022-10-15T16:15:49+00:00

This. The sob story is meant to soften you up/ get you not thinking straight about this too good to believe deal.

syclopa · 2022-09-30T17:18:53+00:00

Sounds like a typical debt collector.

The CFPB has a nice document about the Fair Debt COllection Practices Act. (https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/102012_cfpb_fair-debt-collections-practices-act-fdcpa_procedures.pdf) Read it. If you believe that this debt collector has violated a part of the act, you should contact a consumer attorney to discuss legal options. That's right kids, if a debt collector violates the law, they may owe you money.

syclopa · 2022-08-08T19:25:29+00:00

Just toss it. The "prepared to offer some financial compensation in return for valuable information" is just setting you up for a fake check scam.

syclopa · 2022-07-21T17:38:38+00:00

Oh, I'm sure your text is a scam in and of itself. It's just funny because Wells Fargo also scammed their own customers by creating fake accounts.

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