Debt Collector or Scam?

You may have heard that the new trend in defrauding people are scammers posing as debt collectors, to get you to pay them money. Often, it can be hard to tell the difference between a real collection agency, and some fraudster trying to get your bank information.

Here are some tips to figure out whether the people calling you are legitimate debt collectors, or scammers.

1. You've never gotten letters from them - Scammers rarely send letters. Most legitimate collection agencies will send you notices in the mail, and call you.

2. They refuse to give you information about them or who they are (address, name, etc) - Most legitimate collection agencies will give you this information. Scammers won't.

3. They will only take payment online, or by phone - Most legitimate collection agencies want your money, and they'll take it any way you want to give it. If they insist on only taking a payment by phone, or wire, or refuse to take a money order or check, it's a sign they're a scam.

4. They refer you to the original creditor - When you ask a question, for example, about the debt, or prior payments, or similar questions about your account, a real collection agency will never say "you need to ask Chase/Discover/Amex about this." If they do, they're likely a scammer. Real collection agencies have all the info you need, and if they don't, they'll either lie, or put you off--but they'll never tell you to call the original creditor.

5. When you call, an agent immediately picks up, as if it's a cellphone - In other words, you don't get "Thank you for calling NCO, if this concerns a debt press 1..." Most collection agencies won't just pick up the phone when you call.

6. They make threats that are over the top - Certainly, debt collectors have made some startling threats, and harass people pretty badly. But often, a scammer will make outrageous threats, over and over again, so over the top and beyond what a collection agency would normally do, that it's a sign its a scammer. They will call your employer, tell you there's a subpoena coming today, tell you that you're going to jail, etc., and they're not subtle about it.

7. Their agents have "All American" names - I don't know why this is, but their agents are usually named "Nancy Johnson" or "Lance Dunbar" or "James Blythe." They often will not give themselves foreign-sounding or ethnic-sounding names (and no, having an accent does not mean it's a scammer--many scammers are American born, and American speakers).

8. When you google the phone number, you get nothing - Google has some great sites where you can reverse-lookup 1-800 numbers.

9. They're not registered as debt collectors in your State (in Florida, you can search at https://real.flofr.com/ConsumerServices/SearchLicensingRecords/Search.aspx)

Mind you that often scammers will have the correct debt that you owe, because they will often steal the information from companies. So when they say they're collecting on a $500 payday loan, and you actually did take out a $500 payday loan,  that does not mean they're legit. The accuracy of their information is in no way indicative of whether they are a real collection agency.

The best way to deal with scammers is to ignore them. They pray on people who "play" with them. If you sound intimidated, say you'll pay, ask them to call you back, give them information, etc etc., you've taken the bait. Ignore their calls. Tell them to take a walk. Ignore their messages, and they will eventually go on to an easier target.

And of course, there's no need to guess...feel free to drop me a line, and ask me if you have questions...954 987-0515 or jason@jasonweaverpa.com.

EVERYONE GETS TO SUE...EXCEPT YOU....

You may have heard (and likely not cared) that the U.S. Government is suing Standard & Poor's (S&P) over the mortgage fraud meltdown.

In plain terms, S&P "rates" investments. If you wanted to invest in, say, Commodore Computers, S&P may say that's not such a safe investment. If you wanted to invest in Apple Computers, S&P would likely rate Apple higher, telling you it's safe.

Well, of course S&P rated all those dangerous, shaky, tenuous, mortgage-backed investments which were backed up by undocumented loans and borrowers who couldn't afford them, and which eventually crumbled, bringing down major investment firms, banks, and the entire U.S. economy with them, as A++ (or whatever their highest rating is). And naturally, everyone including the U.S. Government took S&P's "these are safe--go for it!" recommendation, invested in these mortgage backed securities...and lost their shirt.

So now, the U.S. is suing S&P, presumably for all the money they've had to put out to bail everyone out and insure all the losses.

And this isn't the first lawsuit over these securities. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have sued numerous banks for selling them fraudulent, undocumented loans. The investors in the securities themselves have sued the banks and brokers, for selling them the fraudulent, undocumented loans. The investors and banks have sued S&P for the false ratings. Yes, it seems everyone has sued everyone for lying their way to profits, just to fill these faulty mortgage backed securities.

Except for you...the borrower. There is generally no defense in Florida to foreclosure, for being mislead and defrauded in the taking out of your loan. Absent the most extreme circumstances, Joe Borrower can't just say that he was told his loan was safe, told that his property value would go up, or was never told that his income wouldn't be able to justify his payment once it adjusted. The end result will be that "you should have known," and that you were aware of what you were signing when you closed on your loan.

I often hear people say that borrowers "knew what they were doing," and shouldn't have been foolish enough to take out loans so big they couldn't afford them. Why don't those people ask why the investors weren't foolish for investing in these scams in the first place? Why the government wasn't foolish for relying on ratings agencies? Why Fannie Mae wasn't foolish for knowingly turning a blind eye to the products they were purchasing from lenders? In those suits, nobody accuses the big pockets of being dumb or foolish or taking responsibility for their own actions.

The end result is that those with big pockets--investors, banks, trustees, the government--get redress. But you the consumer, have no cause of action. If a bank pays back investors 2 billion for fraudulent loans, that's "justice." But if a bank were to excuse your $200,000 loan for defrauding you, that would be seen as "injustice."

Quite the double standard. There is something seriously wrong with our system...

Questions? Call us at 954 987-0515 or jason@jasonweaverpa.com