North Shore Agency NCO Group Magazine collection scam, Horsham, Pennsylvania

My 90 year old mother received several notices claiming she owed Harper's Magazine for a one year subscription.  She never subscribed to the magazine, nor did she ever receive a single issue.  I wrote Harper's subscription office to this effect, but never received a reply.

The next item in the mail is a collection notice from North Shore Agency for this same bogus subscription.  Never having dealt with a collection agency before, I called my lawyer to find out what protocol to follow -- should we be worried about identity theft, would contacting the collection agency get me entangled with them, etc.  To my surprise, the lawyer said that something virtually identical had happened to her!  Our theory is that this is a scam geared to extorting small amounts from people who want to avoid the hassle of dealing with a collection ageny.  By themselves, the amounts aren't much -- but they add up.

In our state trying to collect on a fraudulent debt constitutes an unfair and deceptive trade practice.  I sent a certified, return receipt letter to North Shore Agency and have also filed complaints with our state Attorney General, the Better Business Bureau, and the AARP Scams & Frauds division.