Receiving calls from debt collectors is never a pleasant experience. But being threatened with a lawsuit or arrest for a debt you don’t owe is downright frightening.
A phony debt collection scam that first swept the nation in 2009 is now making a comeback. The scam works like this: you receive a call from a person who claims to be from the United Law Service attempting to collect on a payday loan you never owed. The names of the business can change, but the technique remains the same.
The caller tells you the police will come and arrest you if you don’t authorize immediate payment from your bank account. Some consumers panic and provide information to make the payment or prove that the caller has the wrong person, which of course exposes them to identity theft.
The Better Business Bureau recommends the following steps to take if you receive a call from a collection agency about a debt you don’t own:
• Don’t panic and provide personal or bank account information unless you’ve determined that you owe the debt and have verified the identity of the caller.
• Request written proof of the debt. By law, a debt collection agency must provide you with written information regarding the creditor, the amount you owe and what you should do if you don’t think you owe the debt.
• If you confirm that you don’t owe the debt, ask the company to correct any erroneous information they’ve provided to credit reporting agencies. Check your credit report to be sure that’s been done.
• Tell the collection agency to stop contacting you. According to federal law, a debt collector cannot continue to contact you at work or at home if you tell them in writing to stop. If they believe it’s a valid debt, they may decide to sue you.
If you think you’re the victim of a scam or an unethical debt collector, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. You can also file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Debt collectors cannot threaten to have you arrested, so if a caller does that, he’s violating the law or he’s not a real collector.
The bottom line is this: don’t give your information out to anyone over the telephone unless you know with absolute certainty that they are who they say they are. Your personal information is too important to not take the time to make sure.
