I recently received a concerning email that appears to be from Halsted Financial Services, and I’m seeking advice on how to proceed. The email subject line reads: “Your Credit One Bank, N.a. account status – , please read,” which immediately raised a red flag for me.
The email body states that it’s about payment plans for a balance of $673.12 related to a Credit One Bank, N.A. account. It addresses the email to someone else, a name I don’t recognize at all. This is particularly strange because I’ve had this email address for over two decades and have never had any dealings with Credit One Bank, nor do I have any derogatory accounts.
The email mentions, “Per our prior communication,” which is confusing as I’ve received no prior communication from Halsted Financial Services. It also references a past payment of $60.00 made on 08/10/2020, which is almost four years ago. The email suggests they have “offers that may suit you better” and directs me to info.halstedfinancial.com to view payment options.
While the website info.halstedfinancial.com seems to be a legitimate site for Halsted Financial Services when visited directly, the links within the email contain long query strings. This makes me hesitant to click on them directly, fearing a potential phishing attempt. The email itself is grammatically correct and appears official, adding to the confusion.
The email also includes a statement: “It is the policy of LVNV Funding LLC, the current creditor, to delete the tradeline upon satisfaction of an account that they have reported.” This refers to tradeline deletion upon account satisfaction, which is relevant to debt collection practices.
My primary concerns are:
- Misdirected Email: Why am I receiving an email about someone else’s account?
- Legitimacy of Halsted Financial Services Email: Despite the seemingly legitimate website, the query string links and incorrect name raise suspicion.
- Old Payment Date: Why reference a payment from so long ago if this is an ongoing collection effort?
- Phishing Risk: Could this be a sophisticated phishing attempt despite appearing official?
I am considering several courses of action:
- Ignoring and Deleting: Simply treat it as spam and delete the email.
- Reporting as Spam: Mark the email as spam within my email provider.
- Contacting Halsted Financial Services Separately: Reach out to Halsted Financial Services through their official website (not the links in the email) to inquire about the email and potential misdirection.
- Opt-Out Link: The email includes an opt-out link, but clicking it is risky if the email is indeed malicious.
Given the circumstances, especially the mismatched name and the long query strings in the links, caution is advised. Before taking any action, verifying the legitimacy of this email and Halsted Financial Services‘ involvement directly through their official website seems prudent. It’s essential to protect personal information and avoid potentially harmful phishing scams. Has anyone else experienced similar communications from Halsted Financial Services or have advice on the best way to handle this situation?
