I just came across the following warning on a Chapter 13 Trustee's website. The text in brackets is where I replaced the specific trustee's information.
If ever you get some scary call or letter saying you have to take immediate action and provide somebody with money or personal information, don't panic. There is nothing in a Chap 13 that requires immediate action upon your first receipt of notice. You will always receive plenty of notice to confirm the source of information is really the trustee, the court or your attorney.
Be aware of a scam in which the perpetrators call debtors claiming to be their attorney or their trustee. The scammers use software to fool the caller ID system into displaying the attorney’s or trustee’s phone number. The imposter instructs the debtor to immediately wire money to prevent a negative action from being taken.
Consumers who receive such a call should not wire funds and should phone their bankruptcy attorney as soon as possible.
Similar scams have been reported with the imposter posing as a bank or other type of lender.
Your Chapter 13 Trustee will never phone you and ask you to wire a payment.
You should only make payments by the following methods:
1. Payroll deduction.
2. By mailing a cashier’s check or money order via first class mail to:
[your trustee at the address provided by your attorney or trustee]
3. On line via TFS
4. By delivering a cashier’s check or money order payable to [your] Chapter 13 Trustee to your attorney IF your attorney instructs you to do so because the trustee has filed a motion to dismiss for default in plan payments and your attorney wants to tender the payment to the trustee in open court
Consumers who receive such a call should not wire funds and should phone their bankruptcy attorney as soon as possible.
Similar scams have been reported with the imposter posing as a bank or other type of lender.
Your Chapter 13 Trustee will never phone you and ask you to wire a payment.
You should only make payments by the following methods:
1. Payroll deduction.
2. By mailing a cashier’s check or money order via first class mail to:
[your trustee at the address provided by your attorney or trustee]
3. On line via TFS
4. By delivering a cashier’s check or money order payable to [your] Chapter 13 Trustee to your attorney IF your attorney instructs you to do so because the trustee has filed a motion to dismiss for default in plan payments and your attorney wants to tender the payment to the trustee in open court