From someone who's been there: when these people attempt to extort monies from you, you MUST do several things: 1st is make sure you have a tape recorder of some sort recording EVERY call (most states allow you to tape calls in these circumstances), and tell the person you'll call him back with more data - whatever you need to stall them. Then RUN to your local police department and get their detective unit's help. If your city police dept is too small try the Sheriff's dept. DO NOT give these persons ANY info, data, monies or especially your SS#. Go to CreditKarma .com (it's the ONLY 100% FREE credit reporting site that gives you unlimited access to your credit scores & data) and block ALL your credit scores - Experian, TransUnion, etc -, explaining to them you are being extorted. Once this is done NOBODY can make entries to your accounts until further notice. Changing your phone to an unlisted number is a pain but it does help keep these wolves from ringing you at all hours. DO keep track of every call, who you're talking with, time of call, how often they're calling, threats (real or implied) etc. DO get mailing addresses, the name of the company, the name of EVERYONE you're speaking with (this is your right under the law). When a person claims to be an attorney demand their attorney's ID, school of law, licensure, what states they're admitted to practice in, and any other data you can get. If the person does not show up in a state's registry they're guilty of a felony for impersonating a lawyer.

Above all, do NOT give in to ACS' threats! They are NOT BBB accredited: they are mostly out of the country and change phone numbers often. They'll threaten you with whatever they think will work. For your own safety remember ALL the mail leaving your home MUST be completely shredded into confetti - don't trust simple shredders!. [Our city offers the use of their shredder once per month with the homeowner putting their files into the machine so nobody else touches it.] NEVER leave your name or address on any brochure, flyer, pamphlet. etc.

All financial documents need to be locked in safes or destroyed (these thieves've been known to break into homes to gather banking data, etc). Also, warn your bank someone may be attempting to access your account. Put a security password on your bank account (if your bank refuses to help, change banks!). Open a P.O. box & have your mail delivered to it instead of your home. If you must have mail come home put a lock on it. Tell your mailperson to lock your mailbox after putting in the day's mail. What I did was convert our home back to a mail slot where the mail drops down inside the house instead of sitting in a mailbox. This prevents anyone from grabbing your bank statements, charge accts etc. out of your mailbox. Our new drop box is doubly-guarded - mail goes thru the wall dropping into a metal box that cannot be opened except by the right key. We've seen scratch marks on the outside where someone was fishing around. Our security cameras caught men and their vehicle.

I can't stress enough ACS & others like them are NOT operating legally! They MUST provide you with an itemized list of charges -which they never do. Check your bank account DAILY - if even a dollar is missing or was charged to a merchant you don't know, close the account immediately and open a new one. Banks understand -most want to help. Tell them you believe your account numbers were stolen - and that some trial runs were done with small amounts as a prelude to stealing your entire account. ACS HATES it when you won't play. They are pros at intimidation and have lots of experience scaring people into giving them money just to get rid of them - but THIS IS THE WRONG THING TO DO!!! IF YOU GIVE THEM EVEN $1.00 THEY HAVE YOUR BANK NUMBERS, ALONG WITH A SLEW OF PRIVATE INFO.

STOP ANSWERING THEIR CALLS. ASK YOUR PHONE PROVIDER TO BLOCK THEIR NUMBER (ESP CELL PHONE COMPANIES ARE GOOD AT HELPING WITH THIS ONE). Do NOT send back their mailings - keep them in a shoebox for future litigation. Backtrack their calls(if you don't know how, ask your telephone company how to do this.) Check your credit cards, statements etc. If you stand up to these thugs you CAN win!

Good luck to all!!

I had the same thing happen to me today, a guy called me said his name was Harold and he was a lawyer from ACS but could barely speak english. He told me that there was a lawsuit against me for a payday loan I never paid back and that he would be sending the sheriff to my job tomorrow to arrest me. I knew that I didnt take out a loan so I told him Id have my lawyer call him and he hung up on me.