Navigating debt collection scams

ATLANTA - Sometimes it feels like scams are coming at us from every direction. But there is one that remains a top problem – the debt collection scam. Don’t be a victim.

According to the FTC, this is how it works. They call you up and say you have a debt then scare you to the point that you blindly pay strangers. Think you won’t fall for it? Well, this is how calls can start, according to one we listened in to.

"My name is dispatcher Rodriguez from the Federal Bureau of Investigation from the FBI of Georgia. With the 911 investigative team."

Now, reading this you can realize it makes no sense. But when it's being said quickly over the phone with the pressure of arrest, it sounds much different. And clearly, it works because it’s Georgia’s number one scam issue. 

Here are a few ways to push back.

First, VERIFY.  Don’t agree that you have a debt until it’s verified through debt validation. You are legally entitled to that. You must be sent a letter within five days of that phone call and it should verify these things: how much you; who you owe; verification of the debt; name and address of the original creditor; and, 30 days to dispute. If they don't comply, walk away.

If it’s a valid debt, CHECK YOUR CALENDAR. There is a six-year statute of limits in collecting it. Now if you contact the debtor and say it’s yours, you reset the clock. This is not so that you can wiggle out of what you owe, but often when six years or more passes, records have been lost, and often the debt has been re-sold. Which means if you did pay it or part of it, those records may be lost, too, and now it’s up to you to prove it.

KEEP NOTES: who you talked to, what you talked about, what you agreed on.

The Better Business Bureau has a really helpful page on this. Be sure to check it out.

Now, I hear folks say, 'Who would fall for that? I wouldn't.' OK, great. Then do me a favor, help enlighten someone who might be a victim.  Pass along this helpful info to them.

And finally, be the person who intercepts the scam. I told my grandmother, who has since passed away, that whenever she got a call like this scaring her or even trying to sell her something to check in with me first.