Do not pay debt collectors posing as police

Should any debt collectors call posing as police, it is fraudulent. The company and representative speaking on the phone as if they were a police officer or government employee should be reported immediately to the actual authorities. Many debt collectors are reasonable and willing to work with people, but some choose to resort to abuse and other illegal practices. Some debt collectors will call posing as police, and if any do, report them immediately.

Rogue collector shut down in California

According to the Los Angeles Times, two debt collection agencies, in reality one operation run by a single man, in California were ordered by a federal court to cease all activities. The two companies, American Credit Crunchers and Ebeeze, were being run by a man named Varang K. Thaker, who used debt collectors and call centers in India to call debtors.

People were contacted and told they owed money, many of whom did not, and were told by the debt collectors that they were being called by a governmental law enforcement agency and could face lawsuits and/or prison time if they didn’t pay up. According to Bloomberg, the companies and the collectors calling from overseas defrauded more than $5 million from people that shouldn’t have paid a dime.

Pattern of behavior

Debt collection agencies have been found doing this before. According to BuffaloNews, collection agents for a company called Final Claims Asset Locators, which was subject of an episode of “Dateline NBC,” were found calling people and telling them that warrants were out for their arrests for debts, many of which had already been paid. The company owner and accomplices were arrested in 2010.

In Nov. 2011, a debt collector for a Florida branch of Cash Plus, a payday loan lender, was arrested for impersonating a sheriff’s deputy while attempting to collect debts, according to NBC2, a Fort Myers NBC affiliate. He would show up at victims’ homes, dressed as a sheriff’s deputy in a police car and threaten them with arrest unless they paid.

[Most payday loan lenders do not engage in such practices]

A Wells Fargo debt collector allegedly tried something novel recently in Oregon, according to OregonLive. The collector called 9-1-1 on a debtor and reported she had threatened to commit suicide. She was committed to a hospital in Eugene by police, despite not having suicidal thoughts, resulting in a hospital bill of more than $1,000. Wells Fargo brushed off her complaint; she is currently suing the bank.

Do not take it

Should any debt collectors call posing as police, it is fraudulent. The company and representative who spoke on the phone as if they were a police officer or government employee should be reported immediately to the actual authorities.

Consumers should always ask for a written statement if a debt collector calls and review the statement for inaccurate information. Furthermore, they should acquaint themselves with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and report any activity contrary to the FDCPA.

Sources

Los Angeles Times

Bloomberg

OregonLive

NBC2: http://www.nbc-2.com/story/16094855/2011/11/21/debt-collector-arrested-after-posing-as-deputy-to-collect-cash?clienttype=printable

BuffaloNews: http://www.buffalonews.com/incoming/article160933.ece

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.shtm