Imagine getting a call that claims you owe money for a newsletter you never ordered. The voice often cites your birthdate as proof, threatens credit‑reporting agencies, and pushes for an immediate payment. This pattern matches a classic debt‑collection scam where the caller uses vague invoice details to intimidate businesses. Protect yourself by never sharing personal data over unsolicited calls, request written verification, and log the call details. If the claim seems dubious, hang up and report the number to the FTC or your state’s consumer protection office. Blocking the number and adding it to your phone’s blacklist can also stop repeat harassment.
It is recommended that you submit your information to relevant authorities, including the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Econsumer.gov, the Better Business Bureau, and your local General Attorney's office.
They claimed our company owed them money, but didnt specify what for, just mentioned an old employee's name, Katie
A call was made from 607-748-0178, requesting to leave a voicemail for the President or VP, but the business was not specified.
Amanda's call to our company claimed an outstanding debt of $237.00, which she asserted had not yet included her additional fees; however, upon investigation, Accounts Payable reported no record of invoices from this entity, and her aggressive demeanor was alarming
Cathy Dotman made a collection demand in a rude manner.
A lady named Cathy called, she said she would report our business for an unpaid subscription, but it's a total scam, obviuosly, she was just trying to get informations
Invoices from Progressive Business Publications have been a recurring issue for our company, with ICR repeatedly contacting us about payments. Upon requesting a copy of the invoice, Christina claimed that faxing it would incur costs for her company. After obtaining the invoice and contacting PBP directly at 800-220-5000, we were able to resolve the issue. We informed both the magazine company and ICR that we would not be paying the bill, as it was not a legitimate order, and suggested they take us to small claims court if necessary.
A follow-up conversation revealed that a confirmation was allegedly sent, but the representative refused to provide a copy or offer further assistance
It turns out that Progressive Business Publications is also known as Progressive Gifts & Incentives and Progressive Business Conferences, and they all seem to be located in Malvern, PA, we've been getting a lot of emails from all of them.
The same scam is beeing used by this company, they claim i owe them money, but i dont, they need to learn about collection etiquette, dont appreciate the harrasment.
Beware of International Credit Recovery and Progressive Business Publications as they may be scams.
On September 28, 2011, I received a call from a man named Steven, who offered me a free trial subscription to a newsletter for managers, claiming to be from Communication Bulletin in Malvern, PA. He requested that I verify my business mailing address, name, and birthdate, and promised to send me two newsletters, after which I could choose to cancel or continue the subscription for $94 per year. Although he said he would send a confirmation email, I never received it, which led me to suspect that this might be a scam.
Interestingly, I received the requested invoice, although I have no intention of paying it
I got a call from a women named Cathy, she was trying to scam me, i googled the number and found this page
A woman call our Senior VP saying we owe money for a newsletter, but we dont get it, i call her back and she cut me off, i think it's a scam agency
The representatives from this company are aggressive and unprofessional, making demands without providing proof or documentation
My colleague received a call from Lindsey, who claimed to have obtained our CEO's verbal consent using my phone number. I requested an audio recording of the conversation, but was told it would be deleted after 90 days. I then researched the company online and found numerous complaints, prompting me to ask Lindsey for a written statement of the events, which I intend to use to report them to the relevant authorities.
A woman claiming to be Lindsey contacted me, stating I owed a debt, but when I called back, she was conveniently unavailable; thanks to this platform, I'm prepared to record our next conversation and forward it to the authorities.
Reporting scam calls to authorities
Ive had a few calls from lindsay, shes trying to collect a debt for a magazine subscription
Reporting options, aside from the BBB, are being sought for these suspected criminals
I received consecutive calls from individuals claiming to be "Angel" and "Amanda" from International Credit Recovery, stating that I owed money for an overdue subscription, but I never ordered the publication and didn't receive any notices.
A woman named Lindsey called, falsely claiming one of our employees had ordered a subscription and failed to pay, but her story seemed dubious
Similar experiences have been reported regarding fraudulent trial offers, which were declined
As a medical doctor, I recieved a call from international credit recovery regarding an unpaid 12-month subscription for coding and billing from progressive company, the lady, who introduced herself as Doddie or Dobbie Philtrop, claimed that I had agreed to the contract, however I did not sign any papers, when I confronted her, she became defensive and said that somebody had recorded my voice on the phone, I didnt belive her and concluded that it was a scam, especialy since the company didnt provide a phone number on their invoice, I took the invoice to the Santa Clara police station and they advised me not to pay and are investigating this scam.
On June 17, 2011, a woman named Cathy from International Credit Recovery (ICR) called, claiming our company owed payment for an unrequested newsletter. She stated that my name and birthday were used as a signature for a binding contract. When I suggested she research it, she became upset and hung up.
April Bair, a representative from ICR, contacted me, and upon further research, I found that ICR and Progressive Business Publications have a significant number of complaints filed against them with the BBB.
It seems they're still at it, as I recived a call today claiming my company owed $299 to Progressive Business Publications for a publication called CFO Update that I had authorized in October of 2010. Also, they mentioned a birthday of June 26 as some kind of evidence of authorization - I have no idea whose birthday that is. I spoke with Amanda, informing her that my in-house attorney would be sending a letter to International Credit Recovery at 300 Main Street, Vestal NY to explain why we weren't paying, and I needed her zip code and last name. She quickly provided them and jumped off the phone so fast I barely had time to say good-bye. Helps to do a reverse phone look-up before returning calls from strangers, and a big thank-you to the posters on this site for the forewarning, it was alot of help.
I just recieved the same thing, luckly i work for a county office, so i told them it was unautorized and i already forwarded thier number and company name to our district attorney, usually threatening with a attorney works, so thats my advise to get rid of these scammers.
I have been receiving calls from this company since May 4th, 2011, claiming that I owe them money, and they have my birthday and recordings of me agreeing to a subscription, but when I asked for proof, they refused.