Debt Collection - How Rampant Is Fraud
Print View - Published: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 at 10:45 PM
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After the recent economic crisis, many people have found themselves exposed to debts. Often, when an individual falls into debt and cannot make repayments, a debt collector is called in to recuperate assets or money so that the lender could get back some of his investment.
Although an unpleasant practice, debt collectors still do an important job for some, irrespective of what others may think of them. With the numbers of people who are in debt reaching record high levels, several legitimate debt collectors have arisen to take advantage of what has become a necessary trade.
Unfortunately though, several unscrupulous people have also entered into the business and seek to extract money from individuals, making use of immoral or even criminal means. Many people are complaining of harassing phone calls and visits from individuals who claim to be debt collectors claiming that if outstanding debts are not paid immediately, then they shall begin legal proceedings.
It is often the case that the victims do not even have any debt or bad credit rating. The bogus debt collectors are often well aware of this but still pursue the victim with campaigns of intimidation so as to scare the victim into paying. The scammers typically make use of ways such as spreading smear campaigns by talking to the neighbors and threatening to visit the victim's workplace. Again, many people choose to pay the requested amount in order to stop the harassment even though they are well aware that they have no debt.
Those who do receive calls from a so called debt collector who starts to use threatening tactics are encouraged to hang up and report a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Even if an individual has debt problems, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act still requires that the collector acts in a professional and moral manner. If any debt collector is found to make use of aggressive or intimidating tactics to extract cash from a debtor, then they are at risk of prosecution. An authentic debt collector will be well aware of the law and will not revert to using such tactics.
Obviously, the law does not spare you from any legitimate debt and you are needed to pay. But, if you're contacted by a seemingly authentic debt collector then it is advisable that you just check their company properly to ensure that they are the real deal. Since fraudulent debt collectors would typically do their best to seem real, they are likely to have many tools at their disposal to appear more credible. If you do 'settle' a debt using a bogus debt collector then you will notice that your debt is not settled at all and you'll still be expected to pay the outstanding amount.
With so many people finding themselves behind on payments, it has left them wide open to abuse from fraudsters meaning that it's essential to be additional cautious when undertaking any financial transaction, even if you do have outstanding debts to be paid.
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