A debt collector may be phony if he/she:
• Requests payment on a loan you do not recognize.
• Refuses to give you a mailing address or phone number.
• Asks for personal financial information.
• Uses scare tactics, such as threats to have you arrested.
If you're suspicious:
• Stop speaking. Hang up the phone.
• Ask for the caller's company name, address and phone number.
• Never confirm or give out your bank account, credit card or Social Security numbers.
• Request a "validation notice" detailing the creditor's name and debt amount.
• Call your creditor to report the suspicious calls and ask who is authorized to collect on their behalf.
• Report suspicious debt collection calls to the FTC (www.ftc.gov or (877) FTC-HELP) or the California state attorney general's public inquiry unit: online, www.ag.ca.gov; by phone, (800) 952-5225 or by mail, State Attorney General's Office, Public Inquiry Unit, P.O. Box 944255, Sacramento, CA 94244-2550.
Under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, debt collectors cannot:
• Use "abusive, unfair or deceptive" tactics when seeking payment for unpaid personal debts. This includes unpaid bills for credit cards, auto loans, mortgages and other consumer debt. (Not covered: debts incurred running a business.)
• Call before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. (unless you authorize calls at different hours).
• Threaten, use abusive language or call repeatedly in short periods of time.
• Call you at work, if you notify them (orally or in writing) that you do not want to be contacted at your workplace.
• Contact anyone else (other than a spouse or attorney) about your debt, unless it's to confirm your address, home phone and work.
• Lie, such as claiming that they're lawyers, you'll be jailed, or forms are legal documents when they're not.
• Debt collectors must send you a written "validation" notice within five days after their first call. The notice must include the creditor's name, how much is owed and how to dispute the debt if you don't think it's yours.
Source: Federal Trade Commission, www.ftc.gov; state attorney general's office, www.ag.ca.gov
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