When a debt collector gets an account placed with them, or buys it, they get all that info. Some keep all that info even if they later lose the account or sell it. Some of them apparently carry in a practice of continuing to collect on a debt they no longer have any right to. Some of those will even pursue legal action in the hope of getting a default judgment. If challenged at some point in a legal way, they will answer with "oops, must be a mix up in our records", or in some cases track down the now current owner of the debt and buy it (back) from them (at a little bit higher price if they have acquired a default judgment on it).

And this does not even involve any data breach issues.

And how much do we really trust these many debt collectors to keep all the data secure? And just how much do we trust all the people they hire to do their high pressure collection tactics to not steal that data as insiders and sell it to other collectors or scammers?

There is no longer a dividing line between debt collectors and scammers. There are too many of them doing both.

Just remember one thing:

You CANNOT be arrested in the USA for a debt. Period. No matter what they say on the phone (scammer or not) ,you CANNOT be arrested for an unpaid debt.( If so , Donald Trump would be executed by a firing squad in a pay per view special)

Now. You can be summoned to court by a creditor. But they cannot arrest you for failing to appear at a CIVIL trial. (They can get a default judgement if you blow it off).

Remember - This is CIVIL law. Lawsuits. Not CRIMINAL law where failure to appear is a seperate (and serious) crime.

@Skaperen:

Hi Skaperen,
Do you know of a way for a consumer to find out who actually owns a debt? I was sent a collection notice that I owed the state of Virginia $499 for taxes back in '92 from a collection agency. I called the state of Virginia and they said I needed to deal with the collection agency. I wrote the agency and asked them to validate the debt and didn't hear from them again.

Fast forward a year later and another collection agency contacted me regarding the same debt. I sent them a request to validate the debt as well and never heard from them again as well. *If* it can be proven that I actually owe the debt, I'd be willing to pay, but I'd only be willing to pay whoever actually owns the debt.

Thanks.

@Snarkysnake: Correct, except for bouncing checks, which is a criminal offense in most if not all states. So while it begins as a civil matter (collection of a check), it can be referred criminally.

If anyone ever threatened me with Extradition over the phone :

1. I would start laughing so hard i know I would start crying - and that is not easy because the medication I am on makes it near impossible to have any emotions at all.

2. I would pull out my iPhone and load Fart Machine and let them have it with many 'wet and moist' fart sounds.

3. repeat step 1.

"Go ahead, extradite me to California. I need a vacation."

@Snarkysnake: Very true, yet I'm surprised that this is still true in this day and age! After all of the changes to the law during this decade to make it easier for businesses to bend customers over the barrel, I'm kind of shocked that we don't have debtors prisons by now! ;)

@ShruggingGalt:

Deposit account fraud (writing checks on a closed account) is a criminal matter from the get-go. If you close an account, better tear up the checks.

@Skaperen: Yup that this could be due to a semi-legit collector company. Remember that New York state "debt collector" company that was recently busted for scamming? Those scum used fake phone ID caller numbers and claimed they were located in Maryland among other places. The want-to-be rap star owner of the company had an actual prior criminal record.

And there are others such as Palisades Collection which purchased alot of AT&T celluar info and files collections on peoples credit reports even people who had paid off the bills completely or never even had accounts.

@misterfuss: You probably need to pull your credit reports to see if the debt is valid and which entity put it on the report. I find it also bogus that the State of VA said that you had to deal with the agency. They should have record of your account somewhere even if they sold the account. I think it was Creditboards that had alot of dispute tools to use such as the specific letter wordings etc to use along with the length of time that the debts have to be collected.

I had this happen to me once (long story) and if I hadn't already been in trouble with another creditor where I had been summoned to court, I would have just laughed it off. I was called about three times in the span of five hours. By the third call, I had done enough research to determine my rights and quickly concluded what was being done was illegal. I wished the person "good luck" and ended the call. I never heard from them again.

I did, however, trace the number to an office in Florida. I reported them to the Attorneys General in both Florida and my home state of Illinois.

The favorite call I ever received was from a debt collector who said I owed Columbia House DVD club money. I never belonged or signed up for such a club and suggested that the debt collector find the contract, or better yet, sue me for it. I will gladly appear in court. That was over 5 years ago, and still nothing from them. My advice is simple; if a debt collector EVER calls go on the offensive. They thrive on you being on the defensive and not knowing what is going on. WHen they say they are from, stop them and say, could you spell the name of the company and your name please. I need your company address. Tell them flat out you do not owe the debt, and if they think you do they will need to communicate with you by mail. Any communication with a debt collector should be on YOUR terms,not theirs

There ought to be a law that prevents selling debt. These debt collectors are fly-by-night operators. If you sue them for harassment and actually get a settlement they just declare bankruptcy and restart. The company you originally did business with, Discover, Visa, Mastercard, etc. has long since separated itself from the issue so there is no reputable company to sue. This lets 'reputable' companies collect money by selling debt to disreputable companies. Lots of these debts are erroneous or out of statute or have had ridiculous, illegal interest added. Since the company collecting the debt doesn't have to worry about their public image they get away with murder.

Jesus...I received one of these calls on a 7 year-old disputed phone bill and it ended quite badly for the person calling me. Mainly because the company he claimed to advocate for no longer exists and also because I'd already settled the matter.

Clearly it is not good luck to cold-call a sociopath like myself at dinnertime and challenge me to a "who can be a bigger assh*le" contest. These people are just too fun to screw with.

What does worry me to no end is the fact that thieves might be able to get their hooks into my sweet, retired neighbor who has never so much as stepped on a bug in her life. Postings and articles such as this are absolutely wonderful for guys my age, but I'd love to see more information that can be digested by retirees.

Sadly I'm not getting the impression that groups like the AARP are up to the task.

@Skaperen: We have been bombarded with scam calls lately after getting a landline phone. I looked up these phone numbers rather than answering since I had no idea why these businesses were calling. About 75% of these calls had the phone number associated with a debt collection scam.

The spoofed phone number of scam collection agency would try to strong arm people for debt payments. The problem being that we don't have any lines of credit and have never had any business with these companies.

One was trying to get people to pay their "late" Macy's bill over the phone.

This kind of thing has gotten seriously out of hand. The scammers have nothing to lose by pursuing people, calling them or whatever to possibly make some free money. The victim has to defend themselves vigorously to keep their credit clean and possibly show up in court to defend themselves. WTF.

I would rather see law enforcement deal with this problem than locking up kids for having a joint in their pocket.

@Snarkysnake: But, one nasty tactic is where they file with the courts 'post judgment interrogatories' demanding work and bank info... Dont answer these and you will have a bench warrant out for your arrest. So there is a sorta debtors prison for those debtors with judgments in the creditors favor...

@kolacek: The wonderful thing about old neighbors is that they repeat funny scary stories to other olds.

You don't have to warn them or give them instructions; all you have to do is tell them your story. If they have questions or concerns, they'll ask.

@misterfuss: For the first CA, you already have a chain of assignment to them, since the state office told you which CA. For the second CA, you have no such chain. It may be possible to get it from the first CA. You could contact them (by letter, certified, return receipt) asking them if they currently have the account, and if not, who they sold it to. Be sure to use some of their tactics and add on things like "This is an attempt to resolve a debt. Any information obtained will be used for that purpose. A failure to answer will be assumed to be an admission that no such debt ever existed with the agency." And do tell them you are giving them a 30 day deadline from the date of receipt or "further action will be taken". if they do answer, and it is the second CA, then contact them.

@bohemian: If you choose to answer the phone call, be sure to not give them any information whatsoever. Instead, once you determine it is a debt collection call, tell them "all communication must be in writing". Legitimate collectors might do that. Scammers certainly won't. Wheat. Chaff.

Be sure to review this past article:

[consumerist.com]

@tmlfan81: Florida is a scammer's heaven. Lax law enforcement, and the lifestyles enjoyed by the rich an infamous.