Especially in times of crisis debt collectors may not be on customers’ favorite list but once a fraudster takes the place of a legitimate collector customers and their financial services providers are victims of financial abuse.
Such risk becomes even higher during an economic crisis where the number of debtors tends to grow. Every business day, says Ted Smith, chief operating officer of ACA International, professional debt collectors contact millions of consumers following legitimate steps necessary to recover legitimate debts.
He warns, however, that while debt collecting and a consumer's personal responsibility to pay for a product or service they have agreed to use is vital to helping survive “businesses from Main Street to Wall Street,” these customers and their service providers are vulnerable to scammers.
The Minneapolis-based nonprofit is encouraging customers to look for warning signs and report cases where they are contacted by people they believe are fraudsters or have been victims of a scam.
ACA International, or the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals—which was founded in 1939 to serve as a knowledge–based resource for the debt collection industry—represents over 5,000 members worldwide, including third–party collection agencies, asset buyers, attorneys, creditors and vendor affiliates.
Through its www.AskDoctorDebt.com website the nonprofit assists customers in need of specialized advice with free feedback in English and Spanish and in complete anonymity since users are not required to file their personal information.
The service was created to ensure customers are well informed about their rights when they work with debt collectors. It is designed to serve as a “consumer-focused educational resource on debt collection," Smith says, which is important in today’s market where customers are faced with a “multitude of scams and misleading or false information,” along with fear of gimmicks and the prospect of “being ripped off."
Since the payment of consumer debt “is vital to maintaining a strong national, state and community economy,” ACA International executives say, customers need be aware of red flags that indicate fraud risk.
For example, one important tip is that if debt collectors do not identify themselves and the collection agency they represent when contacting a consumer to attempt to collect a debt, most probably they are following a scam that can have dangerous consequences for the customer.
Not only, but as required by law, legitimate debt collectors send the debtor a letter confirming the name of the creditor and should reference a specific account and basic information about the debt owed.
In cases where customers talk to the debt collector to verify the debt and resolve the situation, they are warned to be cautious when disclosing any personal information and are advised to refrain from providing or confirm their Social Security number, bank account, credit card or other personal information unless they are certain they are communicating with a legitimate collector.
As a rule legitimate debt collectors do not and should never harass, use vulgarities or threaten the customer, so if that happens one way to verify the caller or debt collection agency is by contacting the ACA International member list.
