Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia
My mother just got a call from someone stating that they were with the Alabama DA regarding a bad check that was written in 1988. My mother stated that this is the first time she has ever been contacted about and does not remeber writting a bad check but due to family issues she did leave Alabama for Georgia very quickly and has never been one to leave a forwarding address so it is not impossible that this is true. My question is that my mother continued to work at the same job for years both when she lived in Alabama and in Georgia so it would not have been very hard to track her down therefore why is today the first she heard about this? I can not help to feel that this is a scam but how do I verify? Also if true what type of legal trouble is she in?
2 Answers from Attorneys
DA's don't call people about 26 year old bad checks. This is a scam and hopefully she hung up immediately and did not share information that can be used to steal her identity.
Without knowing more details, I am inclined to agree with Attorney Ashman. District attorney's do not call people. Assuming that a county would have a worthless check program, they would send a letter to your mother asking her to pay on the check (assuming the check is below the amount for a felony).
Also, different states have different laws, but mostly likely any statute of limitations would have expired long ago for this check. Crimes have statutes of limitations just like civil actions do and the only thing I am aware of which has no statute of limitations is murder.
You ask how you can verify. You start by asking questions of the person who called. Write down the number they are calling from. If they are a district attorney, get their name and bar number and the county where they are allegedly calling from. Then run an internet search on these. You will see numerous complaints if this is a scam. If your assumptions are verified then enter the number and post information about the scam at whocallsme or 1-800 calls or one of the similar helpful websites. If its a scam, you might want to also report to your state attorney general or local district attorney, although the callers could be anywhere in the world.
All states have bars and you can look up an attorney. If this alleged district attorney is not really who he/she says, then they will not be licensed. You could also call the county district attorney's office for the county in Alabama to ask about their worthless check program (if they have one) and see if there is indeed something on your mother.
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