Shannon keeps getting calls from a debt collector that violate the law so she wants to catch them in the act. The collector calls herself “Investigator” and claims that Shannon is part of a “serious investigation” and has threatened her with jail time if she doesn’t pay up. The “Investigator” keeps calling her at work and has also called up her coworkers and told them that Shannon is part of an investigation. Shannon needs help figuring out how to record these calls.

First off, let’s leave the issue of the nature of the debt aside. It’s not germane to the discussion of how to record an illegal debt collector.

There’s a lot of options but since they are calling you at work you will probably want to get some equipment that hooks up to your landline there. You can get what you need for under $10 on Amazon. Just choose from one of the several different devices that provide a line-in to a recording device from the phone. There’s ones that adhere to the phone and pick up the vibrations and one’s that split the signal. For the actual recording you can hook the line-in to a tape recorder or a computer.

Laws regarding recording calls vary state by state. Some are one-party consent states and others are two-party. You should apprise yourself of your state’s laws before recording any calls.

After you record the calls, you can fight them on your own and sue them in small claims for statutory damages for breaking the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (like this guy does for fun and profit) or you can get a lawyer.

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