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.
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